Millcreek Madness
by Neuropsych
Summary: A new camping story! What else is there to say? Rated for language COMPLETE
1. 01

Millcreek Madness 

_So! I let you vote and this is what you asked for, so I hope you enjoy it! A new camp story. This will focus more around Ian, Shawn and River than anyone else, so no complaining if you don't like them, okay? _

_Disclaimer: I'm not making any money off this story (which is really too bad) and I'm only borrowing the characters from the show. The rest of the people in this story – the made up ones – are mine._

OOOOOOOOOO

Ian tapped on the open door to Hammond's office.

"You wanted to see me, General?"

Hammond looked up from his paperwork and nodded.

"Come in, Ian. Close the door."

The cadet closed the door behind him and walked over to the desk, curious as to what Hammond wanted. This was the first time he'd been called to the general's office – at least by himself. Usually if Hammond wanted to talk to SG-1 he called them to the briefing room.

Hammond watched as the cadet came to his desk, knowing that he was wondering what he was doing there. There were a lot of choices Ian would be able to choose for himself for a career in the Air Force – and probably anywhere with his brains – but he'd never make a politician or an diplomat. He just wasn't good at keeping his feelings out of his expression, and at the moment his eyes were curious.

"Have a seat…"

Ian sat down, but he didn't say anything, waiting to find out what Hammond wanted, and the general knew that he was going to go from curious to annoyed fairly quickly.

"I've been reading some of your year end reviews from your instructors at the Academy," Hammond said, gesturing to the paperwork in front of him. He saw Ian glance at the papers, but the young man didn't say anything. He was curious, but not enough to ask questions, and Hammond knew it was because he knew he'd get the answers soon enough – and wouldn't have to ask.

"Your teachers are very impressed with your intelligence, Ian."

The cadet nodded. That was no surprise to him.

"To be honest," Hammond continued, giving him his due, "so am I – but for an entirely different reason. You've dealt with a lot of crazy things – things that are so far fetched that if I hadn't seen them I wouldn't have believed them – and you still managed to maintain extraordinary grades." He looked down at the papers in front of him, shaking his head. "Did you know that you not only scored higher grades on your exams than all the freshman class, but also higher grades than the sophomores and juniors? And only a few of the seniors scored better than you?"

"Yes, sir."

He did know. He just hadn't thought anyone else would. His advisor had told him.

"You're a remarkable young man," Hammond told him, honestly.

"But…?"

There had to be a catch. Ian could hear it in Hammond's voice.

"But you're lacking in one area that is absolutely essential for offworld work."

Ian didn't say anything, but he did frown, and Hammond knew he was wondering what that meant. The general sighed, and leaned back in his chair, studying the young man in front of him.

"You're great with figures, and facts, and information. What you lack are people skills."

"I have people skills."

Hammond shook his head.

"You're aggressive and belligerent with most people, Ian. Not to mention short-tempered and-"

"Most people are idiots."

"But it's still necessary to deal with them. I realize that you've been put into some difficult situations, where finesse wasn't always the easiest course of action, but there are times – many times – when an offworld officer needs to be able to be… diplomatic."

Ian scowled.

"It's really hard to be diplomatic when someone's shooting at you."

"I know."

"Or when they're trying to get you to make some piece of machinery work that you've never even seen before – all the while holding you hostage."

Which was a reference to the System Lord he'd killed, Hammond knew.

"I understand that things can get difficult offworld, Ian," the general said, nodding. "But you're short tempered with everyone – including those who aren't doing any of that. And not only offworld. Your instructors tell me that you're rude to your fellow classmates," he looked down at the paper in front of him. "Contemptuous is the word that comes up most often, and you-"

"So I don't play nice with the other children…" Ian said, sarcastically. "Big whoop. I don't kiss up to the upper classmen, and I don't put up with the morons who think they can bully me because they've been there longer than I have. I don't hang out with retards who just want to copy my answers, and I don't-"

"That's enough," Hammond said, cutting him off, just barely keeping his own temper in check. "You're too intelligent to be this bad with people, Ian. If you can't work well with strangers, you're never going to make an Air Force officer – and that's a waste of talent that I'm not willing to lose. Luckily, the solution to your problem has presented itself to me just this morning."

Now Ian was watching him suspiciously.

"What do you mean?"

"Starting Monday morning, you're on special assignment to Camp Millcreek."

"What?"

Ian knew all the names of the military bases in the area, and he was pretty sure he hadn't heard of that one.

"Where you will be a counselor."

"A what?"

"Camp Millcreek is a summer camp – the same one that Colonel O'Neill met Shawn Adams at, to be exact. You are going to work on your people skills there, by being a camp counselor for a week."

"What?"

"This is non-negotiable, cadet," Hammond told him. "They're short-handed and could use the help, and you could do with a lesson in people skills."

"General," Ian looked like he was in shock – too surprised to even be angry. "You're making a huge mistake. I can't be a counselor. I don't even _like_ kids."

"Then you'll learn to, won't you?"

"But-"

"You're at one week now, cadet. Would you like to go for _two_?"

The cadet clamped down on whatever he'd been about to say, and Hammond could see his face getting red, and his eyes going cold. He was getting over the shock quickly, and the fury was setting in. He didn't give him a chance to blow up, though.

"Colonel O'Neill has directions to the camp – you can get them from him. Dismissed."


	2. 02

_Author's Note: Language alert!_

OOOOOOO

Ian had two favorite ways to deal with being mad. He beat the hell out of a punching bag, or went for a run. Since the SGC didn't have a running track, the moment he left Hammond's office, he headed for the locker room, and then the gym. It was empty, which was fine with him, and he stood in front of a heavy bag, wrapping his hands and trying to figure out what in the world was going through Hammond's mind.

It _had_ to be a practical joke, Ian thought at first as he slowly began punching the bag, loosening up muscles that were already in top condition. There was no way anyone could possibly expect him to spend a week at a camp. Camp was for people like Shawn – good guys, who _liked_ to be with other people. Shit, for that matter, _Hayden_ would probably _love_ to go to camp. Somebody had to be fucking with him.

The more he thought back to the conversation, though, the more he was sure that Hammond wasn't joking around, though. The General hadn't cracked a single smile, hadn't even looked amused. Ian's punches came a little faster. Hammond actually was going to send him to camp. Could you believe that shit? Camp! What the fuck was he supposed to learn from going to camp? How to make a _fire_? He _knew_ how to make a fire. It was called a lighter. How to build a teepee? That was going to save the world someday, wasn't it?

He punched the bag, furious, now.

People skills. _He_ had people skills. He had people skills coming out of his ears, for shit's sake. It wasn't his fault that the people at the academy – for the most part – were a bunch of pompous assholes, and it certainly wasn't his fault they were jealous of him. Maybe if they took their heads out of their asses and stopped trying to figure out their pecking order in things, they'd get better grades. Look at Shawn and Hayden. _They_ both made the top of the list, and they got along all right with him.

Sweat was dripping off him, now, but in his anger Ian didn't notice or care. He had half a mind to tell Hammond to go fuck himself – except that would probably get him into a lot of trouble and then he'd probably _still_ end up going to camp. For a month – or for the whole fucking _summer_. Who knew? And that was if Hammond didn't decide to simply bring him up on charges or something – which would be within his rights, Ian knew. Then he'd get his ass booted out of the academy and there was a whole fucking year down the drain. A year that he could have spent doing something else – but that Ian had to admit had given him several great things in his life that he wouldn't have missed for anything.

Who knew what the next year could bring?

"It could bring another fucking camp…" he muttered aloud, slamming his fist into the bag again.

Or another bunch of people all trailing after him wanting him to heal them, or another System Lord kidnapping him and Sam trying to force them into doing something they had no idea how to do. He felt the anger inside burst, and the next volley of punches were furious and hard, but they did the trick; they exhausted him for the moment. Ian took a deep breath, resting his sweaty forehead against the bag, holding onto it to keep it from swinging around.

The next year could bring him more time with Cassie – even though she wasn't actually going to be there in Colorado. It would see Jake growing a little bigger – maybe even big enough that Ian wouldn't be so nervous around him. It would probably bring some time with Andrew and Shawn and even Hayden – and he was damned certain he was about ready to fix that Asgard problem, even though he was pretty sure the Asgard had no idea he _knew_ about it. That would take some help from Shawn, and Andrew – and maybe Thor – but Ian could see it coming soon.

And all that would go sliding down the toilet if Ian told Hammond to go fuck himself.

"Ian?"

He jerked his head away from the bag, turning at the sound of his name. And saw Sam had joined him without him even realizing it.

"Sam…"

She frowned, and he wondered how long she'd been standing there.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

And immediately he knew she knew he was lying. He didn't even know why he bothered trying, sometimes. Her frown deepened, and he could see genuine worry in her blue eyes.

"It's nothing, Sam… just…" he shrugged, unsure what to tell her – or how to even say it.

"You had a meeting with Hammond?"

He nodded. Jack had been the one to tell him that Hammond had wanted him, so Ian was pretty sure Sam had known, too. Although obviously she didn't know what he'd wanted – or she wouldn't have to ask what was wrong.

"Is everything okay?"

"It's great." He couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice, now, even though he'd tried. "I got the best grades in my class – and in almost all the _other_ classes – so to reward me, Hammond's sending me off to camp for a week."

"What?"

Yeah, he knew she hadn't known what the meeting had been about, now. Otherwise she wouldn't have looked so surprised.

"He's sending me off to _camp_," Ian repeated, his eye stinging when a drop of sweat dripped into it. "So I can learn people skills…"

"At _camp_?"

"Yeah."

"Like a _summer camp_?"

"So he tells me. Camp _Millcreek_."

She frowned. She knew the name well, after all.

"That's a children's camp."

Her frown was no match for his scowl.

"I'm going to be a _counselor_."

"You're joking."

"I wish I was. He didn't make it _sound_ like a joke."

Sam stared at Ian for so long that he actually wondered if she was all right. She wasn't usually caught off guard like this, and it was apparent she really hadn't been able to believe what she'd heard.

"Are you certain that's what he said? Maybe there's a summer retreat for… military geniuses or something…"

"Did _you_ get an invitation to a summer retreat at Camp Millcreek?"

"No."

"Then it's not for geniuses."

"Let me go talk to him," Sam said, shaking her head. "There _must_ be a mistake…"

He actually felt a ray of hope, then, because maybe there had been a mix up or something and Sam could get it all straightened out.

"Be my guest."

She smiled at the relief she heard in his voice.

"Go get cooled off, Ian. I'll come find you when I've had a chance to talk to him."

Yeah, there _had_ to be a mistake. No one in their right mind would turn Ian loose on a bunch of children.


	3. 03

Hammond looked up from his paperwork at the knock on the door, and waved Sam into his office.

"Major?"

"Do you have a minute, sir?"

He nodded, and closed his laptop, a sign that he was giving her his complete attention.

"Of course. What can I do for you?"

"I just had an interesting conversation with Ian, sir."

The general frowned.

"Why do I have a feeling this is about his assignment to Camp Millcreek?"

Sam nodded.

"It's true, then?"

"That he's going to be a counselor for a week? Yes. What bothers me is that he went running to you with this issue…"

"He didn't, sir," Sam said, shaking her head. "I asked him what was going on and he told me."

Hammond felt a little of his annoyance fade with that comment. Enough that he lost the scowl, at any rate.

"A week at camp might be just the thing to take the serration off his rough edges," Hammond told her.

"With all due respect, sir, I don't think so."

"What?"

"He doesn't even _like_ kids, General. I can't imagine what he'd do surrounded by them for a week."

"He'll do what he's _told_," Hammond snapped, and then immediately felt bad for snapping at her. He sighed. "The decision has been _made_, major. The camp is short-staffed and can use the help, and you know as well as I do that the boy needs some work on his people skills."

Well that much was true, yes. But Sam had serious doubts that this was the way to work on them. Thrusting Ian – or anyone, for that matter – into a situation where they were not only unhappy, but well out of their comfort zone didn't seem like the best way to make them embrace a lesson.

Some of her doubt must have shown on her expression, because Hammond frowned again.

"We have to do something."

"Yes, sir." She knew that once he'd given the order there was no way he'd back out of it, no matter who said it was a bad idea – which meant Ian _was_ going to camp. "But sending him off like this…" She hesitated, wondering if he had any idea just how angry Ian was. "He's going to hate you – _and_ the Air Force – if you just leave him to sink or swim like that."

Hammond hesitated. He wasn't so much worried that the boy would hate him – he was a general officer and wasn't out to make friends, anyways – but he was concerned that Ian would lose respect for the Air Force. That was something that couldn't be allowed. The general had some plans of his own for Ian's future, and they _all_ included him being in the Air Force. If Sam – who probably knew him better than anyone else on base – was so certain about the consequences, then Hammond knew he needed to listen. He also knew she was thinking of something, thoguh, because he could hear that quality in her voice that she got when she was considering a complex equation, or problem.

"Do you have any suggestions, major?" He asked, giving her the opening she might be looking for.

Sam leaned forward a little.

"You weren't planning on sending him alone, were you?"

He had. Actually, it couldn't have come at a better time, since Daniel Jackson had asked to be allowed a little leave time to go on a trip with his fiancé, and Teal'c had made a suggestion that perhaps while Daniel was gone it'd be a good time for him to spend a little time with his son and Bra'tac. Which meant SG-1 would have some downtime, and the general had thought Sam might like to have Jack home for a week without worrying where he was going.

"He doesn't need a chaperone, major."

She smiled.

"But if you're going to send him, why not at least send him with some _company_? Shawn and River are both out of school, too, now, and Ian likes both of them. They can keep a rein on him where no one else might be able to… And River's charming enough to make up for Ian's… less charmingness." Which wasn't a word, she knew.

"Do you think that's a good idea, major?" He asked, frowning. "Putting the three of them together is like asking for trouble, from what I've seen…"

Bad things always seemed to happen to those three.

"Better he blows up at them…"

Good point.

"Very well. If they're willing to go, I'll allow it." Besides, the camp really could use extra hands. "What about Andrew Stephens? Why not invite him as well?" Ian liked Andrew as much as he liked Shawn and River as far as Hammond knew – and Andrew was a steady young man who would do a good job keeping them out of trouble.

Sam shook her head, smiling.

"Andrew is taking preliminary placement exams for the academy next week."

Which had to take precedence, of course.

The general nodded again.

"Talk to Shawn and Cadet Hayden and see if they're interested. If they are, let me know, and I'll send the camp a heads-up."

"Yes, sir."

She started to stand up, but Hammond stopped her with an upraised hand.

"I appreciate you coming to see me about this, major."

Sam smiled.

"I just don't understand how you came up with such a…" she faltered. "An _interesting_ idea, sir." She'd been about to say _dumb_ – and that wouldn't have been good. No better than _foolish_, or _ill-advised_. Interesting was safe, though, right?

"It wasn't my idea – and I'm surprised _you_ didn't hear it first – considering it was Colonel O'Neill's idea."

"Really?"

He nodded.

Sam's expression grew unreadable, but she nodded.

"I'd better go see about getting a hold of Shawn and River."

"You're excused, major. Let me know what they say.,"

"Yes, sir."

She stood up, and this time headed for the door. River had been spending the weekend with them before taking a flight home to California, and she wanted to catch the boys before they headed to a movie or someplace she'd have trouble getting in touch with them. But first, she had to stop and have a chat with Jack.


	4. 04

"Now pay attention, Jake, because we can't spell the names wrong. The military frowns on that…"

Jack was sitting at his desk, one hand holding a pen that he was using to fill out paperwork, the other arm cradling his son, who wasn't paying attention at all. He was far more interested in his hand, which he was chewing on. There was drool running down his arm and chin, soaking Jack's shirtsleeve, but Jack didn't mind. He was used to drool.

"C-O-L-O-N-E-L…" Jack said, still talking to the infant while filling out his name. "That spells _Daddy_. We can also spell Daddy with a-"

The door opened, and Jack looked up, wondering who was coming to save him from the monotony of paperwork. He smiled when Sam walked into his office, but noticed right away that she wasn't in a particularly cheerful mood – although she did smile when Jacob noticed her and pulled his hand out of his mouth.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"I thought you were working on your drive doohickey?"

"My laptop crashed, and the tech guys are telling me it won't be back up and running until at least tomorrow."

Which explained why she looked annoyed, Jack decided. And then found out he a moment later that he was wrong. Sam sat down, and crossed her arms, looking at him sharply.

"Did you _really_ tell General Hammond to send Ian to summer camp?"

He nodded.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because it'd be good for him…"

"How is sending him to a place filled with strangers and children good for him?"

"We talked about this, Sam…" Jack said. "Remember?"

She shook her head. There was no way she had had this conversation. She would have remembered.

"I don't think so, Jack."

"No… we _did_. Right after Jake was born… we said we should send him to camp for some rest and relaxation. Because he was looking so tired."

Now she remembered what he was talking about, and she frowned.

"I wasn't serious."

"Have you seen how tired he's been looking lately?" Jack asked, ignoring her reply. "I thought it'd be good for him to get away – get some fresh air, spend some time out in the middle of nowhere and-"

"I've _seen_ him, Jack," Sam said, interrupting. "He's furious. And he has every right to be. You know he doesn't like camping. You know he doesn't like kids. Why would you think that this is a good idea?"

"Because you _said_ it would be," Jack told her. "I figured you knew what you were talking about."

"I was _joking_ when I suggested it."

"I didn't know that."

Or maybe he _had_ – but it had been months ago. How was he supposed to remember? A lot had happened since then.

"I'll talk to Hammond and tell him it's not such a good idea, after all," Jack offered.

"It's too late. He already gave the order."

"Oh."

Which of course meant he couldn't change his mind. It would make him look indecisive – and no officer could look indecisive to his or her men.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I really thought he needed some time off…"

She couldn't fault him for trying to look out for Ian – even though he'd done a lousy job of it this time. She shrugged.

"I told General Hammond that it might be easier on Ian if he had other people he knew with him."

"Misery loves company?"

She smiled.

"Shawn _likes_ camp."

Jack hesitated, and Sam knew he was suddenly worried about Shawn and the fact that he seemed to be a non-stop target for Ashrak. He wouldn't want him too far away from him – where Jack could be right there in case he was needed. However, Jack had allowed Shawn to go with River to California during Spring Break and nothing had happened. Camp Millcreek was a lot closer than California.

"He'll have Ian and River both with him," Sam said, gently.

"I know."

Jack looked down at Jaffer, who had been stretched out by his desk until Sam had arrived. Then he'd moved over to say hi. The black lab would give Shawn an extra bit of protection – in the event something happened – but Jack didn't think he'd be on his best behavior for a week straight.

"Shawn's a good choice to go. He can keep Ian from losing his head."

"Most of the time," Sam agreed.

"When do they leave?"

"Camp starts Monday."

That would give Jack time enough to get used to the idea – although Sam knew Ian would need a lot longer.

"I'll call them and let them know they're going on vacation," he told her.

"I'll let General Hammond know Ian will have company."

She also had to go talk to Ian – who wasn't going to be happy – although she hoped he'd at least understand that she'd tried.

"Ask him to do me a favor," Jack said, shifting Jake, who had started to squirm. "Don't let him tell Ian this was my idea."

Sam smiled, standing up and reaching over to take the baby from him.

"I'll pass it on."

OOOOOOOOO

_Author's note: If you look in _Far Horizons_, they actually did discuss Ian being a counselor… (just a little piece of trivia)_


	5. 05

_Author's Note: Sorry about the wait you guys. I have company that needs constant watching. I should have another chapter out tonight, once they've all gone home!_

OOOOOO

"This is so fucking _stupid_…"

Ian pulled the car next to the O'Neill mailbox, but hesitated for a long moment before he actually turned off the engine. It was Monday morning, and the sun was bright and cheerful – _far_ too cheerful for how annoyed Ian was feeling. Camp started that evening and Ian was thinking that a trip to the dentist – a _five-day_ trip to the dentist – would be better than what they were forcing him to do.

"I suppose I could run to Canada…" he muttered as he opened the door of the convertible and got out, slamming the door a little harder than he probably needed to. Of course, he didn't actually _want_ to go to Canada – although he wasn't positive which would be worse.

"Mr. Excited must be here," Jack said, glancing towards the living room window at the sound of the car door slamming. He couldn't see anything through the curtains, but Jaffer's reaction was typical of a visit from Ian. The lab had immediately headed for the door, his tail wagging cheerfully.

There were five of them around the breakfast table; Sam was holding Jake as she nursed a cup of coffee, and Jack, Shawn and River all making their way through a hearty meal of eggs, sausages and French toast, but Sam stood up, waving Jack back down with her free hand when he started to get up as well.

"I'll let him in," she said, smiling at having a full table of hungry men. This was a relatively new thing for her, after all.

She reached the door at the same time Ian did, and opened it just as he started to knock. And smiled when she saw him. He didn't look happy at all. Not a bit. Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt (nothing new there) he wasn't actually scowling, but she could easily read his expression and it was plain he wasn't anywhere near as cheerful as Jaffer was that morning.

"Good morning, Ian."

He _did_ give her a smile, though, and it lit up his dark eyes for an instant.

"Hi, Sam."

"Come in."

He nodded and took the door from her so she could head back to the table, where Ian saw everyone was still eating breakfast. The house smelled great, and his stomach reminded him that he'd only had a couple of cold pop tarts for breakfast that morning.

"_There's_ our happy camper!" Jack said from the table as soon as Ian walked closer.

Ian scowled, resisting the urge to flip him off – something he wouldn't have hesitated to do had it been Shawn or River.

"Want some breakfast, Ian?"

He shook his head, but reached over and swiped a sausage off Jack's plate before the colonel could stop him.

"No, thanks, Sam."

"Anxious to get to camp?" Jack asked, wielding his fork, defensively, in case Ian tried for another piece of his breakfast.

Shawn snickered, and River grinned, but neither said anything. They were going to have to live with Ian for the next week, after all, and the last thing they needed was for him to be pissed off at them. Sam shot Jack a look that told him that wasn't nice, but Jack pretended he hadn't seen it.

Predictably, Ian scowled. Just as predictably, he opened his mouth to say something obscene. However, he stopped just short of saying it, since he knew Sam didn't want him – or anyone else – swearing in front of Jacob. Instead he opened up the fridge, knowing that Sam or Jack wouldn't mind him getting something to drink. Being pissed off about being sent into an exile he didn't want to go on was thirsty work, after all. He pulled out a small pitcher of milk, and poured a glass.

"I keep hoping Hammond's going to call," he told them, putting the milk back in the fridge and turning back to the table so he could see them all. "And tell me this is all just a big joke."

"You don't have your cell phone on," River pointed out. "What's he going to do? Send up smoke signals?"

Ian rubbed the bridge of his nose with one finger – his middle finger – and Shawn snickered again.

"It's in the car, shit for brains."

So much for not swearing in front of Jake. But Sam didn't even frown at him. She was well aware that he wasn't happy, and knew Ian would immediately be sorry for the slip. Which was proven almost instantly as he realized what he'd said.

"Sorry, Sam."

She smiled her acceptance of the apology as he came over and sat down beside her. Jake reached a hand out to him, and Ian touched the little hand in greeting for just a moment, feeling a little less annoyed at the contact. Jake did that to him, sometimes.

"You remember the route, right?" Jack asked, taking another bite of his breakfast. "You're not going to get lost?"

"As much as I'd like to, no."

"I know the way, Jack," Shawn said, grinning. He'd been to camp as many times as Jack had, after all.

"I don't need a _navigator_, Adams," Ian said taking a drink of his milk.

"I was just saying… we wouldn't want to arrive late because _someone_ took a wrong turn…"

It was River's turn to snicker, now, and Ian tossed the Californian a look that plainly said he wasn't impressed. Although he _was_ glad that River and Shawn were both coming – even though he'd never have told them that aloud. _Ever_.

Well aware that everyone was having a lot of fun at his expense, Ian scowled.

"The Trust is looking better and better every minute," he said, annoyed.

"_That's_ not funny, Ian," Sam said, sharply. Jack lost his amused expression just as quickly, and both of them were so serious so fast that Ian wondered if they thought he was serious. And was immediately guilty for saying it – and even more guilty for making Sam upset.

"I'm sorry, Sam," he said, meaning it. "I-"

"Just don't say that again, okay?" she said, interrupting the apology. "It's not something to joke about." Not when she was already concerned about his reaction to being sent off on an assignment that everyone knew he didn't want to go on. An assignment that had nothing to do with saving the world, and seemingly had no rhyme or reason for him, she was certain. Just his own little private hell.

He nodded, and took another drink of his milk before looking at Shawn and River.

"Are you guys about ready?"

"You in a hurry to get there?"

"The sooner I'm there, the sooner I can come home."

"Smart."

"I _am_ a genius, you know…" Ian said, tipping his glass to finish his drink.

Jack watched, amused, now.

"So tell me, _genius_… why are you drinking from Jake's private reserve?"

Ian sputtered, milk snorting out his nose and mouth, spraying Sam and Jacob both as he choked, and Sam laughed, even as Jack reached over to pound his back to help him clear his lungs.

"_Breast milk_?" Ian finally wheezed, looking at Sam to see if Jack was joking. She was smiling, with tears of mirth making her eyes brighter than normal, and milk dripping off her nose, chin and bangs, but she nodded, and Ian – already red from choking grew even more scarlet. "_Sick_…" he wiped his mouth, sputtering and reached for a hand towel that had been placed on the table to clean Jake. Then he realized what he'd said. "Not that it wasn't _good_… I mean… but you know, for _Jake_ it's good… I-"

"It's okay, Ian," she said, taking the towel he handed her, amused. "I should have labeled it or something…"

Yeah she should have!

"We'll go get our stuff," River said, thoroughly enjoying Ian's discomfiture. _He'd_ almost made the same mistake earlier, and now he had something to tease Ian about for pretty much the rest of our life. "You can help clean up the mess while we put it in your car."


	6. 06

"Last chance to have some kind of emergency so I don't have to go…" Ian said, standing at the door to the house, watching while Shawn and River loaded his trunk with an assortment of camping supplies.

"Sorry, Ian," Sam said from her position beside him. "I can't think of any reason to make you stay." Not one serious enough that it would make Hammond change the orders, at any rate.

"I can think of a million reasons I shouldn't go…" Ian muttered, just loud enough for her to hear.

She felt just a little guilty, knowing that this was – a little bit – her fault. Overlaying the guilt, however, was a lot of worry. She could think of a million reasons he shouldn't go, too. A _hundred_ of them, anyways.

"Just try not to kill any kids, okay?" Jack said, coming up behind them, holding Jake, who was freshly cleaned of all the milk that his godfather had sprayed on him. "And don't teach them any new words. Understand?"

"Fine."

"And watch Shawn…"

Ian nodded.

"I will, Jack."

"See you in a week, then."

"Six days."

"Who's counting?"

"Five days, three hours, forty-five minutes and…" Ian looked at his watch… "…Twenty-five seconds."

Sam smiled, and gave him a quick hug, as Shawn and River returned.

"We'll see you soon."

"Yeah."

She released him and hugged Shawn and then River – just because.

"Be good, you guys."

"We will," River promised with a grin. "And we'll try to keep Jerky Boy here from self-combusting, too."

"Screw you, Hayden."

Ian moved off the porch and headed for his car and Shawn and River followed rather than risk being left behind.

"Shotgun!" River called, grinning at Shawn, who scowled.

OOOOOOOO

The drive wasn't so bad – despite the destination. Ian liked driving, and he especially liked driving his car. They stopped for gas and junk food, and then headed towards the mountains, following Shawn's directions. The day was sunny, with only a hint of clouds and although they had the rush of wind from driving with the top down, there wasn't a breeze aside from that.

When they pulled into the parking area of the camp a couple of hours later, Shawn couldn't help but smile, excitedly. He knew Ian wasn't happy about this, but he had fond memories of this place, and he couldn't help the way he jumped out of the car when they came to a stop.

"It's perfect camp weather," Shawn told River and Ian, looking towards the main building.

There weren't a lot of cars in the lot – they'd arrived early enough to get settled in before any campers arrived, and to have a chance to attend the counselor meeting that would be held to discuss the week ahead – but Shawn was hoping to see someone he knew.

"Lucky us," Ian muttered, getting out of the car as well. He took off his sunglasses, looking around.

The main building was fairly large, with a rail porch going all the way around the front – Ian couldn't see if it went around the back as well. There were a couple staircases leading up to the porch, and a couple of doors leading into the building. Beside the parking area was a small hill, and Ian could see cabins nestled among the trees at the top of the hill. It was a nice looking place. If you liked that kind of thing. Which Ian didn't.

"Sweet looking place, Adams," River said, looking up the hill and then down past the main building where there was a glint of sunlight off water.

"Yeah." Shawn came over to stand beside Ian, getting his attention without having to do anything. When Ian looked over, Shawn gave him a serious look. "These people are friends of mine, Ian," he said. "Do me a favor and _try_ not to be a jerk…?"

He started to say something smart-assed, but stopped himself just in time. Shawn had been coming here for several years, and Ian knew that he really did like the place. It wasn't his fault that Ian had been forced to come, and he wasn't going to take it out on him – or his friends. If he could help it.

"No problem, Adams."

Shawn didn't look quite convinced, but before he could say anything, one of the doors opened, and a man came out of the main building. He stopped only a moment before heading their way, and Shawn grinned.

"Shawn! It's good to see you, young man."

"Hey, Gary."

They shook hands, and Shawn turned to River and Ian.

"These are my friends; Ian Brooks, and River Hayden."

Gary smiled, offering them both his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. I'm Gary Hines, Camp Director."

"Nice to meet you, Gary," River said, shaking his hand warmly. River never met a stranger, after all. "You mind if we call you Gary?"

"Not at all. Not at all." He took Ian's hand as well, and could tell immediately that the dark-haired young man wasn't nearly as excited to be here as Shawn and River would, but Ian forced a smile. "I'm glad you could make it. We're very short handed this week."

"That's what we were told," River said, speaking up before Ian could say anything. "We're glad to be here."

_Some_ of them were, anyways.

Gary's smile grew.

"We're going to have a quick meeting when the others show up," he said. "Until then, feel free to look around and get to know the place. Shawn can show you around. The names of the cabins are different this year," he warned Shawn, "But the boys are on the left side, and the girls are on the right. You and your friends will be with the youngest boys, in Australia."

"Great."

"When you hear the bell ring, come down to the dining room."

"Okay."

He headed back for the main building, and left the three of them alone.

"The _youngest_ boys?" Ian repeated, watching as Hines vanished into the building.

Shawn shrugged.

"How old are we talking, Adams?"

"I'm not sure, Ian. The ages change week by week. It could be anything."

"It doesn't really matter, Brooks," River said, heading up the hill. He'd been in the car long enough to be ready to walk some kinks out. "Little kids are a kick. We're going to have fun."

Ian scowled as Shawn trotted up the hill to join River.

"A _kick_, huh? I'll bet…"

Right in the groin, probably.


	7. 07

Australia turned out to be the cabin that was closest to the top of the hill. Apparently they didn't want the youngest kids positioned on the outskirts of the camp so they put them in the closest cabin – which was a pretty smart thing to do, Ian decided.

"Have you counseled here before, Adams?" he asked as they opened the door and looked inside. The cabin was composed of one main room with several beds – bunk beds for the most part – and another room that turned out to be a bathroom, complete with two showers (no bath tubs) two toilets, and one sink with a full sized mirror running along the wall.

"You have to be sixteen," Shawn said. "But I've watched the counselors so I know what to do."

"So what do we do?" River asked.

Ian looked over at him.

"You mean you don't know?"

"Do _you_?"

"No. _I've_ never been to camp, though."

"What makes you think _I_ have?"

"You _haven't_?"

"Nope." River flexed, admiring his well-formed bicep in the bathroom mirror. "We spent summers on tour – in California and Hawaii, mostly, although Australia at certain times when the waves were ripe."

"Sounds fun," Shawn said, flexing as well. His muscles were well defined – a result of several years of training with Bra'tac – but nowhere near as impressive as River's. Of course, the Californian was the bulkiest of the three of them. Even Ian, who was probably in the best shape of anyone Shawn had ever met, wasn't as physically strong as River was.

"So answer the question, Adams," Ian said, suppressing the urge to flex as well. The result of having a mirror so handy, he supposed. "What do we do?"

Shawn shrugged.

"You just hang out with the kids. Do activities with them – and keep them out of trouble."

"Sounds easy enough," River said. "That's what I've been doing with my sisters since they were little."

"It's probably close to the same thing," Shawn said.

Ian, meanwhile, had been counting beds.

"How many kids to a cabin?"

"Usually nine or ten – sometimes more or less, depending on how many counselors there are." Shawn looked around, too, and pointed to the bed that was closest to the door. "That's a bed that one of us needs to take. It's supposed to keep kids from being able to sneak out at night."

"I'll take it," River said.

"Let's get our stuff, and then I'll show you guys around."

They went back down to Ian's car, and he popped the trunk for them. Shawn, however, hesitated, looking at Ian's glove box.

"Did you bring your gun?"

Ian nodded.

"It's locked up, though."

"You brought your _Glock_ to _camp_?" River asked, incredulously, shaking his head.

Ian scowled.

"I didn't think about it."

"Just keep track of your keys," Shawn said quickly, to avoid an argument. "You never know when some dumb kid might pull something stupid…"

There was a slightly mocking tone in his voice, but Ian and River didn't really understand why.

"I'll keep an eye on them," Ian promised, moving to the back of the car to grab his bag out of the trunk. He hadn't brought a lot of clothing or other stuff – not knowing for sure what he needed – so it wasn't all that big. River, on the other hand, looked like he'd brought his entire wardrobe – and Ian and Shawn were both certain that the clothes in the three bags he was toting were as bright as the sun.

"You know, you _could_ help me…" River said as they puffed up the hill.

Ian threw him an amused glance – the first they'd seen all day from him – and reached over, taking the largest of the bags.

"If you could resist bringing 18 changes of clothes…"

"Some of us wear other things besides t-shirts and jeans, you know. Did you _even_ _bring_ shorts?"

"Of course I did."

One pair, and only because Sam had told him to.

"A sweatshirt?"

"It's in the car."

Actually, there were two. One of his, and an Air Force Academy one that belonged to Cassie.

"What about-"

"I brought everything I'll need, mom… honest."

River flipped him off, and Ian chuckled as he opened the door to the cabin. He dropped the California's bag on the bed by the door, and tossed his own up on the bed he'd chosen – a top bunk, because there was no way he was going to sleep below some kid who'd sure as shit end up being a bed wetter. Shawn dropped his stuff on a bed close to Ian's, and ran his hand along the blanket, making sure it wasn't dusty.

"Come on, Shawn," River said from the door. He'd just shoved his bags under the bed for the moment – he'd unpack later. "Give us the grand tour."

OOOOOOOOO

Very little had changed in the camp since the very first time Shawn had gone there. There were different horses in the corral, and the field was even bigger than it had been. The Challenge course was a little less daunting to him, now that he was older – although River already looked forward to trying it out – and when they went down to the waterfront Shawn saw that there was a speedboat tied up to a new boat dock that hadn't been there the summer before.

"Water-skiing, Adams?" River asked, looking down at the boat.

"I'm not sure," Shawn admitted. "It's new. This whole dock is new." He pointed towards the swimming area, which was flanked by two docks and roped off on the outer edge. "That's the swimming area, and over there is where the sailboats go. You guys know how to sail?"

"Of course."

"Ian?"

"Yeah, I can sail."

He didn't have many opportunities, but he could do it in a lurch.

"That's pretty much the whole camp," Shawn said. "The rock climbing area is over to the east – and there's a bunch of trails for nature walks over there, too, which-"

He was interrupted by what sounded like a church bell. It was the large bell that they'd seen set on a small pedestal in the center of the cabin area.

"That's the bell," Shawn said, looking at the boat once more. "Let's go see what the schedule's going to be like – and maybe find out what the boat's for."

He turned and headed from the waterfront towards the main building, with Ian and River right behind him.


	8. 08

"Oh my God…"

The small group of young women who were gathered at the table all followed the gaze of the one who had spoken, and more than one did a double take when they saw the three guys walk into the dining room.

"Shawn!"

One of them got out of her chair and went over to him, hugging him tight, and Shawn grinned as he returned the hug.

"Hi, Danin."

"Are you counseling?" Danin asked him, smiling. "No one said anything about that!"

"It's a last minute thing," Shawn told her.

"Are Jack and Sam coming? Or Jacob? Gina sent me a picture; he's soooo cute."

Shawn shook his head.

"They're at home."

He turned to Ian and River, and introduced them. "Danin, this is River, and this is Ian. They're-"

"Your roommates at the Air Force academy, right?" Danin finished, smiling at River – who was quick to smile back. "Gina told me all about them."

Shawn looked at Ian and River.

"Gina and Danin are good friends."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Danin," River said, offering his hand, and another smile.

"You, too, River."

She held his hand maybe a moment longer than was necessary, and then looked at Ian, who had hung back. He wasn't all that fond of introductions in the first place, and knew that he could count of River's more boisterous nature to buffer him a little.

"From what I hear, _you're_ the smartest guy in the world."

Ian shrugged.

"I do okay."

"Is your mom _really_ Maggie Brooks?" Danin asked. "Gina told me that she-"

"Danin…"

As they'd been speaking, a couple of the women who had been sitting with Danin had walked over, looking River and Ian over with interest. River, of course, was just as interested in them, and it showed.

"Guys, this is Shawn Adams, and his friends, River and Ian."

"River, huh?" One of the women repeated with a smile. She held out her hand to him, and he took it. "I'm Maria."

"This is Barbara and Ann," Danin said, pointing to the others, who shook hands as well.

Both of them were older than Danin – who Shawn knew was seventeen.

"Are you guys in school?" Ann asked, curiously, looking at Ian. She preferred blondes, but the dark-haired guy was almost as attractive, and she liked the way he stayed back from the crowd. It made him seem aloof.

"We go to the Air Force Academy," River answered when Ian didn't make a response.

"Really?" Barbara smiled, and then looked at Shawn. "What about you?"

"I'm in the Air Force Academy, too."

"Really? How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

Almost.

Danin smiled at the surprised expressions on her friends' faces.

"Shawn's a _genius_, you guys. He graduated from high school at fourteen."

"Wow."

Now the women who had dismissed him as being too young to hold their interest were watching him, and Shawn found he rather preferred they had their attention on River or Ian.

"I just got lucky," he said, lamely.

"Hey, guys…"

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Gary Hines, who was also accompanied by several others.

"Let's have a seat, can we?"

"Come sit with us, you guys," Ann offered.

Without waiting for an answer, she led them over to the table they'd been sitting at, and those who hadn't gotten up smiled a welcome when they joined them. River's smile was broad – he was clearly in his element – and he sat down between two of them, introducing himself and still managing to make it seem as if he'd known them forever. Danin took Shawn's hand – with an affection that was purely sisterly – and led him over to the table as well. Unable to figure out a way to go sit somewhere else without making it plain he didn't want to sit with them, Ian was forced to join them, sitting between Shawn and one of the older women – one that Ian noticed was wearing a wedding ring. That made her the perfect person to sit beside, as far as he was concerned.

She smiled when he sat down, and she offered him her hand.

"I'm Kelly."

"Ian."

"It's nice to meet you."

He nodded, but was saved from answering when Gary waved the rest of the people gathered into chairs around other tables.

"Welcome to the first week of summer camp," he told them, and Ian immediately assumed it was a speech he was used to giving. "For those of you who have done this before, welcome back! For those of you who haven't; don't be afraid, it doesn't hurt."

There were a few chuckles, and Hines smiled.

"This is the week that we have our youngest campers, so remember that we're going to have to be conscientious of their needs – for some of them this will be their first time away from home for any period of time."

Ian gave a purely mental groan, even while those around him nodded their agreement.

Hines held up a couple of pieces of paper, stapled together.

"The schedule is going to allow for a lot of free time – and this year, we're also going to have something new." He smiled, looking around. "I'm sure those of you who have been down to the water have noticed the new dock – and the new boat?"

There were murmurs of agreement and curiosity.

"During free time, we're going to have skiing lessons. Those of you who have kids who want to give it a try, please feel free to allow them to sign up during their free time. They will have to have passed a swimming test, however – and the younger campers will have to have one of their counselors with them. Of course, I'm sure you'll all want to give it a try, too."

Ian would rather feed his fingers to a rabid antelope, but River was nodding his agreement – as were several of the others.

"We'll worry about the schedule day by day instead of trying to adhere to it completely – which doesn't always work with this age group – and team activities will be in groups decided by cabins, as usual."

Which didn't make any sense to Ian, although there were nods around the table he was sitting at. Shawn was nodding, too, so Ian just figured he'd ask him what that meant later.

"Any questions about the schedule?"

There weren't any, and Gary smiled once more.

"Good. We have about an hour before the campers are supposed to start arriving, so why don't we get our chairs in a circle and get to know each other with some introductions?"

Ian stood with the others, grabbing his chair and moving it out to the side of the room where they were all making a large circle. Again, he made sure to sit between Shawn and Kelly, who didn't seem to mind him next to her. So far it wasn't too bad. He supposed. Maybe it wasn't going to be so bad, after all…


	9. 09

Author's note: Whew! Good catch on Danin's name! I went back and changed it in the last chapter, but it's stuck as Devon in my head, now, so if I call her that sometime in the future, forgive me!

OOOOOOOOOOO

The introductions lasted the full hour. There were several counselors there, after all, and each of them was expected to stand up and tell the others their name and a little bit about themselves. As each person finished, Gary Hines would look at a clipboard in his hand and announce what cabin that person was in – just in case they'd just arrived and hadn't had a chance to find out – and tell the group what age level they were counseling.

Ian learned during that time that there were eight cabins that were going to be in use that week – there were actually ten cabins, but not all would be needed. Australia, Peru, Russia and Egypt were the boys' cabins, while Spain, Japan, Argentina and Romania were designated for the girls.

He also learned that he, River and Shawn were going to be responsible for seven six year olds. Six was apparently the youngest they allowed to attend camp – and it was way too young as far as Ian was concerned. He didn't know anything about six year olds, after all. Only that they were little.

As they went around in a circle introducing themselves, Ian noticed with a certain satisfaction that Shawn garnered a lot of attention from the other counselors when he announced where he was going to school. Adams was the youngest there, and Ian was glad to see that while the others might have assumed him to simply be some ordinary kid just here because his parents didn't have anything better for him to do during summer vacation, the fact that he was in college already was impressive to all of them and dispelled that notion immediately.

The oldest of the female counselors was Kelly, who was in her early forties, and the youngest was Danin, who was seventeen. The male counselors ranged from Shawn at sixteen to a senior at Colorado State who was twenty-three. Ian didn't really pay all that much attention to the introductions, but he didn't need to, since he'd be able to remember all the names thrown at him with ease.

Ian watched as River introduced himself, though, and was glad to note that the younger women watched the Californian closely as he stood up, obviously impressed with his looks and the fact that he, too, was in the Air Force Academy. That was all the better as far as Ian was concerned, because he wasn't looking forward to a week of trying to make small talk with a bunch of strange women. When it was his turn to introduce himself, he made it short and to the point, simply giving his name, age and where he went to school. Then he sat down, and Gary stood up once more, looking at his watch.

"All right. The campers should start arriving anytime. Let's get out into the main entrance, shall we?"

There were murmurs of excitement as they all stood up, and River came over to join him and Shawn as the crowd headed out the door of the cafeteria and filed down the hallway.

"This is pretty cool, Adams," he told Shawn as they found the sign on the wall labeled "Australia". This was where their boys would come to check in and meet their counselors.

Shawn nodded, but he gave Ian a look that was almost worried. As if he expected Ian to say something sarcastic – or caustic. The New Yorker didn't say anything, though. He picked up the clipboard on their table, and scanned the list of names; something to do while they were waiting.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

They didn't have to wait long. Almost immediately campers started arriving with parents, and it wasn't long before someone approached them. A little boy – and Ian supposed they were all going to be _little_ boys – with hair as blonde as River's and an excited smile on his face. He was with his mother, who was holding his hand and looking far more nervous than her son was. She glanced at the Australia sign and angled that direction, stopping in front of Shawn and River.

"I'm Shelby Marcus, and this is my son Brian."

River took charge as if he'd been doing this counseling thing for years. He gave the woman a smile that eased some of her nervousness and introduced himself, Shawn, and Ian, and then started asking the boy all sorts of questions about himself – questions designed more to entertain than to really learn anything – since they'd been told that there would be time for that later that evening. It also filled in the gap between then and the arrival of the next boy.

This one was Grant, who was blonde as well, although his hair was cut so short you could barely tell what color it was. Grant wasn't any more nervous than Brian had been, and he was quick to hug his mom and dad and then turn his attention to River as well.

"See?" Shawn said, softly to Ian as Grant's parents headed for the door. "It's not so bad."

Ian scowled.

"Don't say that, Adams. Sure as shit, something bad will happen when someone says that."

Shawn grinned.

"Better watch that potty mouth."

Ian resisted the urge to flip him off – knowing that while he hadn't spoken loud enough for anyone to hear him swear, they'd definitely be able to see the obscene gesture.

"Whatever."

Grant and Brian were soon joined by the rest of their cabin mates. Wilson and Chad were step-brothers who actually looked almost enough alike that they could pass as twins; both with dark curly hair and big blue eyes, while Chance Phillips was a wiry black boy with a grin that was so contagious even Ian had to smile. Sammy Peterson arrived with a pile of stuff that made even River's huge wardrobe pale in comparison and Bruce Carson Chadwick the Third immediately gained their attention when he arrived wearing an Air Force sweatshirt and hat.

"Is that everyone?" River asked, although he knew that it was.

The boys all nodded.

"Then let's get you guys to the cabin and show you around a little, okay?"

They started gathering up their stuff, but it was hardly surprising that the little boys weren't able to carry the bigger bags, and Shawn, River and Ian all three found themselves loaded down with luggage.

"Is there going to be dinner soon?" Sammy asked, holding his pillow and a backpack, while Ian was struggling with the rest of his stuff.

"At seven," Ian told him. He'd already looked at the schedule, so he knew what was coming and when.

"What time is it now?"

"Six."

"Are we going to have campfire?" Wilson asked Ian, reaching down to pick up a pillow Ian dropped as they walked.

"I hope not."

"Why not? I heard that- wow! Look at that bell! It's huge!"

They'd reached the top of the hill and the boy had caught sight of the bell that was used to do all the signaling at the camp.

"I have a bell that big back home," Grant said.

"No you don't," Chad said.

"Yes, I do."

"You can't."

"I do."

"A bell?"

"Yeah."

"That big?"

"Yeah."

"How come?"

"We live beside a church, and it has one in the tower."

"Wow! Cool. Can I ring the bell, River?"

Ian could already feel a headache coming on, and he wished he would have thought to bring aspirin.


	10. 10

_Author's Note: This one's just a little short...!_

OOOOOOOO

"Take any bed that doesn't already have someone's stuff on it," River told the boys as they entered the cabin.

"Where are you sleeping, River?" Brian asked.

When River pointed to the bed by the door, there was a scramble as several of the boys all tried to get the bed closest to it, and Ian couldn't help but feel a little smug about that. Better River than him, as far as he was concerned.

"Where are _you_ sleeping?" Sammy asked Ian before he'd even managed to finish congratulating himself.

Shawn grinned at the way Ian forced himself to not scowl.

"Over there," the New Yorker said, pointing at his bed. Sure enough, Sammy went over and tossed his pillow on the bed right underneath it, and then looked at Ian, who was carrying the rest of his stuff, silently asking for help.

Bah.

Ian scowled at Shawn, who was sitting on his bed watching the show, but he nonetheless dropped Sammy's gear on the bed under his own.

"Thanks."

"Yeah."

"All right everyone," River said, before they could say anything else. "Gather around over here…"

The boys all did as they were told, each of them walking over to stand close to River's bed, where he was sitting between Chad and Wilson.

"What's my name?" He asked them as Ian walked over to lean against one of the upper bunks.

"_River_!" They all shouted in unison.

River pointed at Shawn, who was closest.

"And him?"

"_Shawn_!"

"And him?"

"_Ian_!"

River grinned.

"Good! Now, if you have any problems at all, and _we're_ not around to fix it, you know who to ask for, right?"

"Right!"

"Good. Now, according to the schedule, we're supposed to spend some time getting to know each other – which only makes sense since we're going to be living together for the next week, right?"

"Right!"

"So, let's go in a circle, and when we get to you, I want you to say your name, and where you live, and what's your favorite food, okay?"

As they went around the circle, Shawn had to be impressed at how River had taken charge. The Californian might not have ever gone to summer camp, but he was a natural with the kids, and he was really good at getting each of them to answer the question he'd just posed to them without letting them simply say one word, or one kind of food. Ian wasn't being too terrible, either, Shawn admitted, even though he was keeping out of the line of sight as much as possible. He hadn't scowled too much when Sammy had come over and climbed up on the bed he'd been leaning against, and he hadn't moved away – which would probably have crushed the little boy.

When the food question was answered, River asked them another one, and then another, giving the boys a chance to learn about each other without making the questions anything too hard. And then, much to Ian's annoyance and Shawn's amusement, he turned the tables, and told the boys that they could now ask him and Ian and River anything they wanted to know.

"Are you _really_ from California?"

River nodded, but before he could answer, Grant interrupted.

"My dad went to California last month."

"I've been there."

"Not me! My sister says California is going to fall off the map when they have an earthquake."

River grinned.

"I've heard that, too."

"And you still live there?"

There were impressed looks.

"Yup."

"Have you ever seen a shark?"

"Have you ever seen a movie star?"

"Have you seen Kobe Bryant?"

"Do you know my Uncle Jared? He lives in California, too."

"Hey guys, you know, Ian's from New York…" River told them, tossing his friend an amused look, more than ready to thrust him into the limelight to see what the kids did.

"Really?"

All eyes turned to the New Yorker, and Shawn knew that it was just a reflex when Ian scowled.

"My brother went to New York."

"My _dad's_ been there, too."

"Do you know the _Yankees_?"

"Wh-"

The ringing of the bell interrupted the questioning, and Shawn smiled at just how quickly Ian straightened up.

"That means it's time to go down to the main building," he told the boys, more than ready to change the subject and get it off him.

"Are we eating?" Sammy asked. "I'm hungry!"

"Me, too!" Brian agreed.

"Me, _three_!" Chad said.

Ian looked at his watch, and shrugged.

"We're supposed to be."

"I want you guys to stay with us, okay?" River said as they all headed for the door in a rush. "We don't want to lose any of you so soon."

"No…" Ian agreed, muttering to himself as he watched them running down the hill ahead of him and Shawn, chasing River who had taken off like he was shot from a cannon. "We can't have that…"


	11. 11

Dinner was a fairly simple affair that night. Hot dogs, chips, carrot sticks, celery sticks and a dessert of chocolate chip cookies was more than enough to satisfy the appetites of the hungry children – although Ian might have wished for a few more choices. As they entered the dining room they were directed to one of the tables in the front of the room; Shawn told them that from now on one of them would want to come down before the meal started and have a table so the kids would be able to find it.

Gary Hines walked over and stood in front of their table before the food was served, raising his hands for everyone's attention, and the room slowly grew silent.

"Welcome campers!" he told them with a smile. "I have a few announcements to make before we eat…" he looked down at the notes in his hand. "Tonight after we're done eating, we're going to have an activity in the gym, followed by campfire."

There were assorted cheers and excited murmurings from some of the campers, and he waited long enough for them to die down before speaking again.

"No one is allowed to swim unless it's a swim time, or another activity," he said, looking at them seriously. "If you go in the water without permission, we will call your parents and have them come get you. The same goes for the docks; don't go on them unless you've been told you can, okay?"

There were nods all around.

"There is a fence around the outer edge of the property. Make sure you don't cross that fence line. Again, if you do, we'll have to call your parents." He paused just long enough for this to sink in – especially for those younger kids who'd never been there before. "We have a nurse on duty at all times, in case you get hurt. If you feel sick or if you get hurt, tell one of your counselors and he or she will take you to the nurse, okay?"

Again there were nods, and he smiled.

"Good! Now, at each meal we're going to have two people get up and get all the food for everyone else at your table. These folks are called Runners. One will be a camper, and one will be a counselor." The counselors would obviously be in charge of getting the heavy stuff – or the hot stuff. "So choose who's going to run tonight, and we'll get started."

There was a lot of noise, now, as each table had various kids and counselors volunteer, and Shawn and River both looked at Ian.

"I'd say you have more running experience than the rest of us," River said with a smirk.

Ian almost – almost! – flipped him off, but stopped himself just in time. That was true enough, he supposed. Besides, he didn't mind helping.

"I'll run, sure."

"I'll run, too!" Chance volunteered, standing up and once more grinning that smile that was so infectious.

OOOOOOOOOO

"So what do we do at Campfire?" River asked Shawn once all the food was brought to the table and the campers had settled into eating.

"Camp songs, tell stories, get-"

"_Ghost_ stories?" Brian asked, excitedly.

Shawn smiled.

"Maybe. I'm not really sure. I've never done a camp with small kids before, so I don't really know what they do. Probably make s'mores, though."

"Sure, nothing like filling a kid with sugar before sending them to bed," Ian said sarcastically.

"But they wear them out with activities, too," Shawn countered, not at all perturbed by Ian's sarcasm. He was used to it, after all, and knew that his friend wasn't quite as annoyed as he was acting. Probably, he was just as interested in finding out what to expect.

"What's the activity?" Chad asked, curiously from his spot beside River.

"Let me see what the schedule says," River said, reaching for the pocket that he had stuffed his copy of the schedule in.

"It doesn't say," Ian told him, munching on a handful of chips. "It just says 'activity'."

River didn't even question him. He just nodded, and looked at Chad with a grin.

"Guess it'll be a surprise for all of us."

Besides, it gave them something to do with the rest of their meal, because the entire time was spent trying to figure out what they might be doing.

OOOOOOOOOO

"The name of this game is Fruit Basket Upset," Gary announced to the entire camp only an hour later.

They were all in the gym, which was a very large room that echoed with the voices of the eighty kids and adults that were gathered in it. Each of them was sitting in a chair in a large circle that took up most of the space in the room. Gary was standing in the middle of that circle.

"The first thing I'm going to do is give you each a fruit name. Remember your name, okay?"

He started at Bruce, and went around the circle, pointing at each kid, giving him or her one of four fruit. Apple, orange, banana, and grapes. Once every kid and counselor had a fruit name, he went back to the center of the circle.

"Everyone remember your name?"

There were shouts and nods, and Gary smiled.

"Good! Now, one person is going to be it. This person stands in the middle here – right where I am – and he or she will call out a fruit – or two, if they want. Say they call oranges. If your fruit name is oranges, you have to jump out of your chair, and find an empty seat before everyone else takes them. There will be one less chair than there are people, so whoever doesn't get a chair will end up being the next it. Get it?"

Again his question was greeted with nods, the kids all sitting on the edges of their chairs now in anticipation.

"If you want to really cause a ruckus," Gary said, grinning, "Then you yell Fruit Basket Upset, and everyone has to find a new chair, no matter what their fruit is. And no grabbing the chair next to yours, either. You have to run across the circle."

He looked around, and pointed to Shawn.

"Shawn? Pull your chair out of the circle, and be the first it, will you?"

Shawn nodded and did as he was told, his boys watching with excitement as their counselor walked into the center of the circle. He looked around the circle of kids, and grinned.

"Bananas and grapes!"

It was utter mayhem. Forty people were suddenly launched out of their chairs, dodging other people in a mad rush to find a new place to sit. Screams and laughter echoed off the gym wall as Shawn snagged a now empty chair, and one of the oldest female campers – an eight year old – suddenly found herself without a chair. She smiled shyly as her friends hooted at her, and yelled "Apples!"

There were less people on the move this time, but it was no quieter because of it. Several children bumped happily into each other in their excitement, and Ian smiled from the chair he was sitting in, unable to ignore the laughter of the children – although he himself wouldn't care if oranges were never called.

"Oranges!"

He found himself moving out of his chair suddenly, barely avoiding a collision with one of the other guy counselors as the two of them adroitly exchanged chairs, little kids screaming happily around them.

Bah.


	12. 12

"If I never hear someone scream _fruit basket upset_ again, it'll be too soon," Ian muttered more than an hour later. They were on their way back to the cabin, with their boys crowded around them, laughing and shouting. According to Gary, who had excused them only minutes ago, they had ten minutes to get jackets or sweatshirts and get to the firepit before campfire started.

"It wasn't so bad, Brooks," River said, reaching down and grabbing Sammy's collar when the boy tripped, saving him from scraping a knee or something. "I think I even saw you smiling at one point…"

"That was a grimace of pain," Ian said, scowling. "I think I pulled a muscle when some kid ran into me."

"You're so full of shit," River said, grinning.

"Ooooo!" Sammy and several of the other boys stopped in mid-stride, looking at River with shock, and the Californian clapped a hand over his mouth, chagrined.

"You guys didn't hear that."

"_I_ heard it!"

"Me, too!"

"Me, three!"

"Me, Fo-"

"Hey." River scooped up the closest – Bruce – and clapped his hand over his mouth before he could finish saying what he'd been about to say. He could feel the boy giggling behind his hand. "Hush, now, or you'll get me in trouble. You don't want to get me in trouble, do you?"

Bruce shook his head, as did the other boys.

"No."

"Good! Now get to the cabin and get your jackets."

River set Bruce down, and the boy scampered off up the hill with the others.

"Smooth, Hayden."

River scowled, shaking his head. He'd expected the kids to hear a bad word or two eventually that week, but he certainly hadn't expected _him_ to be the one to say it.

Shawn grinned.

"They're not going to be hideously scarred, you know? I'm sure they've all heard that word before."

"Their ears are probably _bleeding_," Ian said, smugly. "And they're probably trying to figure out how to wash-"

"It slipped out," River interrupted, with another uncharacteristic scowl. "Must be the proximity to you."

Shawn laughed, and was then almost brained when he approached the cabin and the door crashed open less than a foot before he reached it.

"Shit."

Ian snickered; amused – especially since Shawn rarely swore – and River couldn't help but laugh as well.

"See? It's rubbing off on us… we'd better find some kind of anti-oath cream or something…"

"Uh huh," Ian said, heading into the cabin and for his own bed, still smiling. Just wait until Sam heard about this. He was going to-

"Ian?"

He was brought out of his thoughts by Sammy, who was digging through one of the many bags he'd brought with him. There were clothes scattered everywhere, an avalanche of clothing and crap that made Ian wonder how any six year old could possibly need that many clothes. He probably hadn't owned that much clothing in his entire life combined.

"What?"

"Can I sit with you at campfire?"

"Why would you want to do that?"

Sammy hesitated, uncertain what he meant, but Ian caught himself before he had a chance to say anything.

"Yeah. You can sit with me, if you want to." He couldn't imagine why he'd want to, but the boy's smile was relieved and happy. "Just wear a coat, or something…"

OOOOOOOO

The campfire pit was in one of the directions Shawn hadn't taken Ian and River, but when the bell rang it wasn't too hard to figure out where it was. All they had to do was follow everyone else as they headed down the hill behind the parking lot, around the outer edge of it, and then down towards what was a small lagoon.

"This is new…" Shawn said, looking around. When he'd been a camper, there hadn't been a lagoon, and the fire pit hadn't had the permanent concrete enclosure.

"They did it last fall," Danin said from behind them, causing River, Ian and Shawn to all look back at her. She was with a couple of her girls, who were bundled into light jackets against the gentle – but slightly chilled – breeze that had picked up. Also with her were several others, mostly the older kids (all of eight) and a couple of their counselors. "They dug out the meadow that was here, and then flooded it with the winter runoff from the mountain snow packs." She smiled, "They're going to have canoeing in here, I heard."

"Ah."

"I heard there are bears around here," one of the girls said, looking around. "I don't want to canoe where bears can swim."

"There aren't any bears in Colorado," one of the male counselors – a man named Hank who was being followed by a gang of eight year olds – assured the little girl with a condescending smile. "And even if there were, they wouldn't hurt you."

"Yeah," agreed another one. "Bears aren't aggressive."

"Tell that to my car," Ian muttered.

Shawn smiled.

"What do you mean?" Hank asked, frowning.

"I mean a couple of little bears scratched the shi- _heck_ – out of my car last winter. And then dear old mom tried to take a chunk out of me…"

"What?"

"That _can't_ be right," the other counselor said, frowning as well as they all came to a stop in the middle of the newly made trail that headed for the campfire. "_Bears_ aren't aggressive… are you sure it wasn't a-"

"It was a _bear_," Ian said, immediately on the defensive since he knew he was right. "And it definitely wasn't trying to steal my pick-a-nic basket," he added sarcastically.

"But-"

"Show him the scar," River said, more to cut the argument short than anything else. He figured the sooner Ian was proven right, the better, since Ian was showing every sign of getting angry.

Ian scowled, but was apparently on the same page that River was, because he pulled up his t-shirt, revealing his stomach and chest to those who were standing there.

"Wow…"

He was well muscled, and lean – although a little pale – but what drew everyone's attention were the scars. Running across his chest were four perfectly parallel scars, obviously left by some kind of creature – and from the distance apart from each scar it was something big.

"See?"

Ian dropped his shirt, and contined down the trail, Sammy and Brian right beside him, but everyone else staring at the retreating back.


	13. 13

"Was that _really_ a bear…?" Hank asked Shawn, still watching as Ian walked down the trail to the fire pit.

Shawn nodded.

"Yeah. It mangled his hand, too – and the cubs really did a number on his car…"

"Why would-"

"He got between the mother and her cubs," River said looking down at the little girls who were gathered around. Most of them looked a little scared, now, and were looking around at the woods. And the little girls weren't the only ones, since the little boys who had been listening in were looking just as frightened and nervous. River reached down and picked up one of the smallest girls, eliciting a squeal from her as he swooped on her. He gave her a broad smile, and tickled her. "So, if we see any bear cubs, we _stay away from them_, right?"

The little girl giggled, her fright forgotten with the tickling, and she nodded.

"Right!"

River looked at the other kids as he draped the little girl over his broad shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"_Right_?"

They nodded, too, and some of them smiled as well.

"Right."

"Good!" He scooped up another one of the little girls, and draped her over his other shoulder. "Come on, guys, let's get to campfire."

The boys from Australia all ran down the hill after Ian, and Sierra – one of the other female counselors – smiled at River, who gave her an easy grin.

"You're good with them," she said, reaching down and picking up one of her girls.

"I have a ton of little sisters," River told her. "Although they're not as cute as these two!"

The girls in question giggled from their lofty positions on his shoulders, and River tightened his grip when the first one started to slip.

"I'm Sierra," the counselor told River, just in case he hadn't remembered her name from the circle of introduction.

He nodded. While he didn't have the memory that Ian did, he never forgot the name of a pretty girl.

"River."

"I know."

He grinned, especially when she fell into step beside him and walked close enough to practically touch, but they didn't say anything else, since there were kids listening, and they had reached the bottom of the trail and were close to the fire, now.

River swung both little girls down and sent them off to sit with their friends, while he looked for his own kids. He found them sitting by Ian – who looked extremely out of place surrounded by kids, all trying to talk to him at the same time. Off to the side, Shawn was sitting on the same bench that the rest of his cabin was, clearly amused at the attention his roommate was getting.

"I'd better go rescue Ian," River told Sierra.

She looked over, following his gaze.

"_He_ doesn't like kids, does he?"

River shrugged, unwilling to discuss Ian's failings – even with a cute girl he wouldn't mind getting to know better.

"He's not so bad. You just need to get to know him, that's all."

Sierra didn't look convinced, but she nodded, willing to accept that for the moment.

"I'd better go find my girls… I'll talk to you later."

River's smile was warm.

"Definitely."

She blushed, and turned to search out her girls – and the other counselor in her cabin – and River turned and headed for his boys.

OOOOOO

"Did you _really_ get attacked by a bear?" Brian asked.

"Did it hurt?" Wilson asked, at the same time.

"Was it a _grizzly_?" asked Chance.

"It was just a _bear_, guys," Ian said, scowling at the attention. "Don't worry about it."

"But-"

"Okay!" Everyone looked up when Gary Hines stepped to the front of the area, standing right beside the fire pit, which held a fairly large fire blazing merrily in it. Ian breathed a sigh of relief as the boys turned their attention to what was going to happen next and left him alone. River came over and joined him and Shawn, and the boys sat down on the bench around the three counselors.

Gary waited patiently until he was sure he had pretty much everyone's attention, and then held up his hands, gesturing to the fire area and the lagoon that was behind them all.

"Are you guys having fun, yet?"

The kids all screamed, clapping their hands happily, and Ian wished they had some kind of volume control button or something. He was probably going to be deaf by the time the week was over.

"Let's get to singing, then!" Gary told them, gesturing for a couple of his staff members who had been sitting on a bench close at hand to stand up. These two were holding guitars, and the kids quieted down immediately as one of the two started playing a very familiar camp song.

"Those of you who don't know the words, don't worry," he called out to the kids. "We'll sing it a lot, so you'll learn them."

Great… Ian thought. Just _fucking_ great. He sighed, as everyone around him started to sing – although a lot of his boys just mumbled, uncertain of the words but wanting to make noise:

_I come from Alabama with my banjo on my knee,  
I'm going to Louisiana, my true love for to see.  
It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry  
The sun so hot I froze to death, Susanna, don't you cry. _

Chorus

Oh! Susanna, Oh don't you cry for me,  
For I come from Alabama with my banjo on my knee.

I had a dream the other night, when everything was still;  
I thought I saw Susanna dear, a coming down the hill.  
A buckwheat cake was in her mouth, a tear was in her eye,  
Says I, I'm coming from the south, Susanna, don't you cry.

I soon will be in New Orleans, and then I'll look around,  
And when I find Susanna, I'll fall upon the ground.  
But if I do not find her, then I will surely die,  
And when I'm dead and buried, Oh, Susanna, don't you cry.

Ian already knew the words, and by the time they started singing the song again, he was more than ready to go back to talking about that stupid bear, because he knew immediately from the enthusiastic singing that he was going to be in for a long night.


	14. 14

"So…?"

Jack looked over at Sam, who entered the room with a tired sigh and came over to sit down beside him on the sofa.

"So?"

She smiled; cuddling against him and reaching for the remote before he could start watching something she didn't want to.

"We haven't heard any distress calls from the camp, yet… think we should call and make sure Ian didn't kill everyone and hide their bodies in the forest?"

He chuckled and pulled her close, taking a half-hearted swipe at the remote control before giving it up for lost and accepting that he'd end up watching some kind of documentary that evening instead of Sportscenter.

"I think it'd take more than a single afternoon and evening to kill them all…"

"Ian's resourceful."

"True."

She rested her chin on his shoulder.

"We could call and make sure Shawn's okay…"

"But you're not worried about _Shawn_, are you?"

She shook her head.

"Shawn likes camp."

"Ian's not going to go crazy, Sam," Jack said, running his hand through her silky blonde hair. "A week at camp won't kill him."

"And you're not worried about him getting hurt?"

"Of _course_ not."

"Then why did you call Janet to remind her that he was going – when it wasn't necessary?"

"Because I thought she'd _want_ to know…"

"Uh huh." Sam wasn't buying that a bit. "And you didn't think _Cassie_ could tell her?"

"Cassie has a lot on her mind, what with getting ready for school next fall…"

"Yeah. So you're not worried at all about the boys?"

"Of course not…" He brushed a kiss against her cheek. "I'm sure they're having the time of their lives…"

OOOOOOOOO

_"She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes (toot, toot)  
She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes (toot, toot)  
She'll be coming round the mountain, she'll be coming round the mountain,  
She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes (toot, toot)_

_She'll be driving six white horses when she comes (whoa back!)  
She'll be driving six white horses when she comes (whoa back!)  
She'll be driving six white horses, she'll be driving six white horses,  
She'll be driving six white horses when she comes (whoa back!)_

_Oh, we'll all go out to meet her when she comes (hi babe)  
Oh, we'll all go out to meet her when she comes (hi babe)  
Oh, we'll all go out to meet her, we'll all go out to meet her,  
We'll all go out to meet her when she comes (hi babe)_

_She'll be wearing red pajamas when she comes (scratch, scratch)  
She'll be wearing red pajamas when she comes (scratch, scratch)  
She'll be wearing red pajamas, she'll be wearing red pajamas,  
She'll be wearing red pajamas when she comes (scratch, scratch)_

_She will have to sleep with Grandma when she comes (snee snore)  
She will have to sleep with Grandma when she comes (snee snore)  
She will have to sleep with Grandma, she'll have to sleep with Grandma,  
She will have to sleep with Grandma when she comes (snee snore)"_

Ian was ready to die. That was all there was to it. He'd been forced to sit through _twelve_ songs – all way too long, and all repeated more than once so the kids could get them stuck in their heads – and he was pretty sure his own head was about to explode.

His head was pounding in time to the song, and he was certain that one more verse would be all it took to make him fall over the edge. Already he was planning some rather elaborate ways to steal the guitars from the cabins of the staff guys and make sure they were never found again – if that was what it took to make sure he wasn't going to have to sit through another evening of singing.

_Not_ that he didn't like singing. He _liked_ singing… Well, no. He _didn't_ like singing. He didn't like slow songs, he didn't like old songs, and he definitely didn't like songs that required him to pretend to snore like a grandma. He didn't like anything to do with singing – at least not at a campfire. Not with a bunch of off-key little kids, and not with a couple of guitars as the only means of accompaniment.

As the song came to a close – and Ian waited with dread to see if they were going to sing it again – he breathed a sigh of relief. It was fully dark now, and well past nine o'clock. According to the schedule he'd looked at that afternoon, they were supposed to end their campfire at nine. They were running over, but he was certain that it was only a matter of time. He wasn't all that tired, but he would be grateful to be sent to bed. If only Gary Hines would get his ass up in front of the-

"Okay, kids," Gary said standing up and interrupting Ian's train of thought. "Time for bed!"

There were disappointed groans all around – except for Ian – and the Camp Director smiled. He was used to this. He'd been Camp Director for longer than these kids had been alive, after all.

"Lights out at ten, and make sure you get a good night's sleep! We have a lot to do tomorrow! Counselors, make sure you have all your kids before heading to your cabins, please…"

Ian looked around, doing a quick head count in the light of the dying fire. All of his were there – but when had that counselor Sierra moved over to sit beside River? He scowled, but he didn't say anything. It wasn't like they were making out or anything; they were just sitting beside each other. _Really close_.

"Come on, guys," Ian said, reaching out and taking Sammy by the back of his jacket. "Let's get out of here before they change their minds and we have to sing some more…"

"But I like singing, Ian," Chance protested, getting up as well.

"Me too!" Brian said.

"Me three!" Wilson agreed.

"Me fo-"

Chad's voice was cut off in mid-sentence when Shawn came up behind him and clamped his hand over his mouth, grabbing the boy in a friendly hug from behind and scooping him up into the air. While Shawn wasn't as big as River and wasn't as strong as Ian, he was still more than capable of picking up a little kid and tossing him over his shoulder like River had done with the little girl, earlier.

"Come on, guys," Shawn said, smiling. He hated to admit it, but _he_ hadn't enjoyed campfire all that much, either. "Maybe if we go straight to the cabin and get ready for bed, we can convince Ian to tell us all about the bear that attacked him."

"Oooo! _Really_?" Sammy asked, squirming around in Ian's grasp so he could look up at the New Yorker. "Will you?"

Ian scowled. Really, though, if those were his options, he'd have gone into the forest, found another bear and _reenacted_ it for the kids, if that's what it took to keep from singing any more that night.

"Sure. But only if you get River to hurry up."

River, who had been quietly talking with Sierra, suddenly found himself swarmed over by seven six year olds.

"Come _on_, River! We've got to get to the cabin! _Now_! Come on!"

He cast a suspicious look over at Ian, who gave him a smug smile, and sighed.

"Okay, guys… let's go."

What was the big hurry, though? He thought they _enjoyed_ campfire? _He_ certainly had…


	15. 15

One thing about six year olds; when they wanted something badly enough, they were more than willing to do what they were told to get it. The boys of Australia were no different, their counselors found. They hustled to their cabin with only a minimum amount of distraction, and immediately set about getting ready for bed, throwing their clothes all over their beds in the search for pajamas.

Ian scowled when he came out of the bathroom, dressed in only sweats and ready or bed as well. Sammy had his shit strewn from one side of the bed to the other – and on the floor in front of and under his lower bunk.

"Where are you planning on sleeping?" he asked the boy, who was now dressed in a pair of plaid pajamas.

"On my bed," Sammy said, looking at the scars on Ian's chest. "Does that hurt?"

"No." Ian looked at the bed, which was piled deep. "You can't sleep on your clothes."

"Why not?"

"They'll get wrinkled."

"So?"

Ian sighed, well aware that he wasn't so much worried about the clothes getting wrinkled as he was appalled at the mess that had been made in such a short time. None of the other kids had made such a mess – and Shawn and River were almost as neat and tidy as Ian himself.

"Just put your extra stuff on this bed," Ian said, pointing to the empty lower bunk next to Sammy's. "And keep it off the floor. You don't want any spiders or something climbing into your clothes…"

Sammy looked down, as if expecting to find bugs crawling all over him.

"Ian…"

He looked over to find River had joined them. The Californian was only wearing sweats, too, but while Ian's sweats were a dark navy blue, River's were bright orange and were already making Ian's eyes water.

"What?"

"Just help him move his stuff. It's too late for a lecture."

Ian scowled at his roommate, but shrugged, looking down at the boy.

"Here. You grab the sh- _stuff_ on the floor, and I'll get the stuff from your bed…"

He moved to do just that, as several of the other boys came over to help, and it only took minutes before the entire area was cleaned up and there was a huge pile of clothes on the bed beside Sammy's.

Shawn came out of the bathroom, also dressed in sweats. It didn't take much to figure out what was going on, and Shawn was, after all, a genius.

"Good job guys, now hop into bed."

There was a mad scramble as the boys did what they were told, and they all turned to Ian, looking eager. He sighed, but a deal was a deal.

"All right, it all started when this guy I know – Andrew – and I went up to his grandparent's cabin in the woods, not too far from here…"

The story wasn't all that long, but it was interesting – and maybe a little scary – for the boys. Several times they interrupted with questions, but Ian didn't allow the interruptions to last long. Instead, he told the story – with a little editing, since there were definitely parts that shouldn't be shared with anyone, including the six-year-old boys.

Sammy, who was lying in his bed right beside where Ian was standing, reached out and took Ian's hand, looking at it curiously.

"Is that the scar?" he asked, looking at a small scar onthe back of Ian's hand.

Ian looked, and then shook his head. He turned his hand over, and showed Sammy the palm of his hand, where there was a faint line from Fraiser's stitches.

"_That's_ the scar, right there."

"What's the other scar from?" Sammy asked, as Bruce leaned over from his bed to look at Ian's hand, too.

"Something else," Ian said, definitely not willing to talk about being shot just then. It was a wonder the kids hadn't noticed the scar on his abdomen, yet. Or maybe they were too enthralled by the whole bear thing to notice just then. "I'll tell you later. Maybe."

Since the bell had already rang, and the lights were supposed to be out, River made sure all the kids were in bed, and then reached up and hit the light switch, leaving them all in the dark.

"Bed time, guys!"

There were groans, but no outright mutiny, and Ian pulled himself up into his own top bunk, biting back a curse when he barked his shin on the wooden rail that was designed to keep the kids from rolling off in the night. The bed was too short, the mattress too thin and hard, and there was a cricket outside that was just starting to make noise. Or maybe it always had been and they just hadn't heard it over the sound of his story.

It was no surprise, then, that it took him forever to go to sleep. The only surprise was that he managed to fall asleep at all.

OOOOOOOOOOO

A hand on his bare shoulder woke him from his sleep.

"_Ian_?"

The whispered voice was close enough that Ian could feel the warm breath of the speaker, and when he opened his eyes, he found Sammy's face no more than a couple inches from his own. He moved back a little, barely able to make out the boy's face in the faint light coming from the window on the other side of the room.

"What?"

"I heard a noise."

"What?"

_"I heard a noise…"_

Ian rubbed his face, looking at his watch. It was two AM.

"It was probably just your imagination," he whispered. "Go back to sleep."

"It was outside…" Sammy whispered back, his little face pale and nervous. "What if it was a _bear_?"

"It's _not_ a bear."

"It sounds like one…"

Ian listened, but didn't hear anything but the sound of all the others sleeping; several softly snoring and one mumbling in his sleep.

"I don't hear anything, Sammy. Go back to sleep."

"But-"

"Go to bed before I tie you to you mattress."

The little boy hesitated, his eyes still frightened, and Ian sighed when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to brush him off like he wanted to.

"Look, if I go make sure there's nothing out there, will you go back to bed?"

Sammy nodded.

"Fine. Go to bed."

Ian slid out of bed, dropping soundlessly to the floor and he waited until Sammy slid back under the blankets – although the boy was still watching him with his big hazel eyes.

He crossed the room to the door, and opened it silently, which immediately woke River – which was the whole point of him sleeping by the door, right?

"What's up?" He asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Nothing."

"Then what are-"

"Sammy thought he _heard_ something," Ian whispered. The last thing he needed was for all the other kids to wake up, too. "I told him I'd go look."

River nodded, and lay back down.

"Have fun."

Ian scowled and slipped out the door, closing it behind him. So much for hoping Hayden would go look _for_ him, huh? He shivered; despite the fact that it was summer, it was the middle of the night up in the mountains, and all Ian was wearing were sweats. After a minute of looking around and not seeing anything, Ian shrugged and went back inside.

"Anything?" River whispered.

"Nah."

Ian went back over to his bunk, and knelt down in front of Sammy, who was sitting up in his bed.

"There wasn't anything out there, okay?"

The little boy nodded.

"Go back to sleep, okay?"

Sammy nodded again, and Ian hopped back up onto his bed, once more barking his shin on the wooden railing.

Shit.


	16. 16

Despite the shitty mattress and the broken night's sleep, Ian was awake early. He normally was at any rate, but as uncomfortable as he was in the kid–sized bed, he was awake even earlier than normal. He opened his eyes to a dull light in the cabin, and the sound of snores all around him. Who would have thought that so many kids could snore? He looked around, and then looked at his watch. It was just after 5 AM, and if he wanted to have a chance to run in peace and quiet, he was going to have to do it now, he was certain.

With that goal in mind, he dropped to the floor and reached for his bag. He could run in the same sweats he was wearing, but then he wouldn't be able to sleep in them that night, and he only had a limited supply of clothing, so he was going to have to make things last a little longer. He changed into a t-shirt and a pair of white sweats, pulled on socks and running shoes, and with a quick glance around to make sure none of the kids were awake, he opened the door.

And once more woke River up.

"What's up?" the Californian asked, groggily. "Another bear?"

"I'm going for a run."

"It's _vacation_. Go back to sleep."

Ian shook his head. River had all summer to be lazy, but Ian was still, technically, on duty.

"I'll be back in a bit."

"Watch out for bears."

"I couldn't get so lucky…"

River snorted, and closed his eyes, more than willing to take his own advice and go back to sleep, and Ian closed the door behind him silently.

While he stretched, he looked around, deciding his best running course, and eventually opted to just run the fence line. He didn't know exactly how far it was, but if he needed more, he'd run it again.

OOOOOOOOO

There were no bears. There weren't any cougars, or rabid antelope, or even a stray alligator, although he did startle a couple of deer, which immediately leaped over the short fence he'd been following and took off into the trees. That was all there was. A lot of trees and a lot of rough, uneven ground that forced him to pay attention to where he was putting his feet in order to keep from tripping up.

As he was running up the hill from the lagoon – on the other side of the fire pit – he came around a curve in the hill and almost ran right over one of the other counselors. It was a toss up as to who was more startled, him or her, but she was the one that went crashing to the ground with a surprised cry.

He stopped, looking down at her. And saw it was Ann, one of the counselors who was in charge of the six year old girls.

"Are you okay?"

She was wearing running shorts and a tank top, and he could see that she'd scratched her knee up pretty good – at least it was bleeding and dirty, but she nodded.

"I think so."

"Sorry about that, I didn't see you."

She gave him a wry glance.

"I didn't see you, either. I didn't expect anyone else to be up so early…"

"Nothing broken?" he asked, noticing that she was rubbing her ankle.

"It's a little sore… I probably just sprained it…" She looked at him with a mixture of pain and amusement. "You'll probably have to carry me to the nurse…"

Not if he could help it. He wasn't sure if she was teasing him or not – he didn't know her, after all, but there was no way.

"Let me see."

He knelt down in front of her, and she watched as he took her ankle in his hands.

"I thought you were in the Navy?"

Ian frowned, looking at her.

"I'm in the _Air Force_. Why?"

"You're studying medicine?"

He shook his head.

"My girlfriend's mom is a doctor, though. I've watched her."

Not to mention he had a few tricks up his proverbial sleeve. He had already taken care of the sprain, which had been minor, but still would have lamed her for a few days.

"Girlfriend, huh?"

Ian ignored the question.

"I don't think it's sprained," he told her, standing up and offering her his hand. "Try it out."

The knee was bleeding, but wouldn't give her too much trouble – and there was no way he was going to heal that. A sprain was one thing; a cut that miraculously stopped bleeding and healed up was another thing entirely. He'd learned that lesson.

She gave him her hand, letting him pull her to her feet, and tenderly put her weight on the injured ankle. And smiled in surprise.

"It's okay."

"Good."

"I should probably see the nurse about my knee though, huh?"

"If it hurts, you should."

"Come with me?"

He frowned. It was one thing to take care of the ankle to make up for running her down, but he wasn't going to go all the way out of his way and interrupt his run just because she wanted company. And she definitely didn't need help getting there, he'd already seen to that. So he used the first excuse that came to mind.

"I've got to finish my run before my boys wake up."

She looked like she wanted to try and convince him otherwise, but obviously decided that he wasn't going to change his mind, because she just nodded.

"I'll see you later."

Not if he saw her first.

"Yeah."

He'd see her. It was a small camp, after all, and he wouldn't be able to avoid her. But he'd try.

He turned and took off, making a mental note to change his route the next morning, just in case.


	17. 17

"Hey, Ian!"

He'd just finished his run and was trotting across the top of the hill the cabins were situated on when he heard Gary Hines call his name. He looked down at the main building and saw the man waving at him.

"Save my old legs the walk, and ring the wake up bell for me, will you?"

Meaning he was too lazy to go up the hill if he didn't have to. Ian could relate to that. He waved to show him that he would, and went over to the big bell that sat on its pedestal in the spot directly between the boys' and girls' cabins, and pulled it a few times, creating a ringing that was so loud directly in front of it he was certain there'd be ringing in his ears the entire day.

But he _had_ to admit; it was kind of entertaining to make such a loud noise.

"I think it's rung."

He looked over and saw that while he'd been making his racket, Ann had come up behind him, an amused smile on her face and a bright bandage wrapped around the knee she'd injured. He bit off the sarcastic reply he was going to make – it was completely uncalled for – and shrugged, instead, glad that she'd stopped several feet away from him.

"Yeah."

"My knee's fine."

"Good." Enough small talk. "I'd better go get showered before the boys use all the hot water."

She smiled.

"Do I make you nervous?"

Ian scowled.

"No."

"Then why are you running away from me? I'm not going to bite you."

"I _have_ a girlfriend."

She laughed, surprising him.

"I have a _boyfriend_, Ian. I'm not here looking for a fling or something, I'm just here to meet new people."

Caught completely off guard, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"Why would you want to do that?"

Which he could tell surprised her, because she lost the smile.

"Because I like meeting new people. Isn't that why _you're_ here? To help out and meet new people?"

"No. I'm here-" he interrupted himself, scowling, and wondered why the hell he was going to tell her anything. "I better go."

She arched a single eyebrow, reminding him of Teal'c.

"Running away?"

"No."

"_Looks_ like it."

He scowled, and walked off, heading back to Australia. But he knew she was watching him, and he couldn't help but feel just a little foolish. Which of course, he hated.

OOOOOOOOO

"What was that bell?" River asked from his bed when he walked through the door – refusing to look over his shoulder to see if Ann was still standing by the bell.

"It's the wake up bell," Ian told him. He looked at the boys, who were still sound asleep – all except for Chance and Chad, who were both sitting up in their beds, looking ready to go back to sleep any minute. "Time to wake up, guys," he told them.

Shawn yawned, and jumping down from his bunk with a practiced grace. He, of course, was used to camp beds, and hadn't had any trouble at all sleeping on one. Or getting out of bed without whacking his shins.

"When's breakfast?" he asked Ian, wondering if he had time for a shower.

"Eight."

Plenty of time. Obviously the powers that be in the camp knew that it would take a while to wake up their sleepy boys and get them all dressed and ready to start their day.

"I call dibs on the shower," River said, rolling out of his bed just as awkwardly as Ian had. "You and Shawn can wake the boys up."

"I'm going to shower, too," Shawn said, with a smug grin at Ian. "Have fun!"

"Hey…"

He'd just finished _jogging_, for shit's sake. He was the one that needed the shower. Not to mention, he didn't want to wake the-

"I'll do it tomorrow," Shawn promised, already grabbing a towel.

Ian scowled, looking over to see Chad and Chance both watching – which meant he wasn't going to flip Shawn off like he wanted to. But he'd definitely get even with him. And with River, too.

"Fine."

"And don't _yell_ at them to wake them up," Shawn said, vanishing into the bathroom. "Be nice."

Nice. Just fucking lovely. Ian sighed, inwardly, and went over to the bunk below his, kneeling down and shaking Sammy's shoulder.

"Hey. Get up."

The little boy mumbled something and rolled away from him, turning to face the back wall.

Ian scowled, annoyed, and shook him a little harder.

"Sammy. Wake up before I chop your legs off and feed them to the fish."

That got the reaction he wanted. The boy rolled back over, his eyes open now, and a tired grin on his face.

"You wouldn't do that."

"I might."

"My mom wouldn't like that."

Ah, the logic of a six year old. Ian couldn't hope to compete, and he was smart enough to realize it.

"Wake up, okay? Breakfast is going to be soon, and-"

"How come you're all sweaty?"

"I went for a run. Don't go back to sleep, okay?"

"Okay."

The little boy sat up on his bunk to prove to Ian that he wasn't going to go back to sleep, and the cadet moved on to the next bed. Chance was already sitting up and wide awake, though.

"Can I come run with you tomorrow?" he asked Ian, hopefully.

"No."

"Me, too!" Chad said, excitedly from the other side of the room, completely ignoring Ian's answer. "Please?"

At the shout, Wilson raised his tousled head, obviously wondering what his brother was so excited about.

Ian scowled. Great. Just fucking great. But he wasn't a genius for nothing, and his quick mind came up with a solution almost immediately.

"If you're awake when I go running in the morning, you can come. But I'm not waking you up."

Chance grinned.

"And you have to help me wake everyone else up right now," Ian added. No sense doing something himself when he could delegate, right?

The boys that were awake immediately jumped off their beds, and went to the bunks of those who were still sleeping, leaving Ian free to find some clean clothes and wait for River or Shawn to get done with one of the showers so he could have a turn.

Yeah. This wasn't so bad…


	18. 18

"So, what's on the schedule for today?" Shawn asked Ian as the younger cadet came out of the shower. He was rather surprised that all the boys were up and getting dressed – not that it took much for a six year old to dress; throw on the pants or shorts that were on the floor where they'd left them the night before, and grab the closest shirt.

Ian himself was still wearing the sweats and t-shirt he'd jogged in. No sense changing until _he'd_ showered, after all.

"Breakfast, inspection of cabins, activity, lunch, activity, free time, dinner, activity, campfire and lights out," Ian told him, grabbing a towel out of his bag so he could hit the shower before one of the kids claimed it. (Of course, he'd eventually come to find out that that wasn't a concern.)

"I'll go claim our table," River offered. He was just coming out of the bathroom as well, completely dressed – if you could call bright orange shorts, an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt with a t-shirt underneath it and a pair of deck shoes (with no socks) dressed. Ian covered his eyes to protect them from the radiation coming from the clothing, and shrugged.

"Take the kids with you."

"They can't go down until the bell rings," Shawn told him, smiling at his usual reaction to River's clothes. There were groans of disappointment from the hungry boys, but again, no mutiny.

Ian scowled, and then shrugged again. He was going to take a shower, so he didn't really care where the boys were.

"Keep an eye on them, Adams."

Shawn nodded, turning to the boys as River left and Ian went into the bathroom.

"If there's going to be an inspection we should probably pick the place up."

Not that it was incredibly messy, but there were clothes strewn about – especially in Sammy's area – and they might as well get it all picked up now.

The boys scrambled to do what he'd asked them, which meant they really just shoved most of the stuff under their bunks – although Sammy actually picked his up and tossed it on the extra bed with the rest of his stuff.

"Are you _really_ in the Air Force?" Bruce asked Shawn.

Shawn nodded.

"I'm in the Academy – which means I'm _learning_ how to be in the Air Force."

"Do they let you shoot guns?" Wilson asked.

"Can you fly a plane?" Bruce asked at the same time, just as eagerly.

"You have to do a lot of marching, huh?" Chance said. "My dad was in the Army, he did a lot of marching he said."

"My dad marches a lot," Brian said, quickly.

"So does mine."

"My-"

"Guys." Shawn wasn't really any more used to a lot of kids talking all at once any more than Ian was. He was just a bit more patient about it. "Yes, I've fired a gun. No, I've never flown a plane – only on a simulator, although _River_ has, so you might ask him about that – and we march a lot, but we also do a lot of running." Some of them more than others.

They asked him about a million more questions while they waited for Ian to get out of the shower and for the bell to ring, and Shawn was feeling just a little harried by the time Ian made an appearance, showered and shaved and wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Before Shawn could mention the lack of originality on Ian's part, the bell rang once more, and Shawn breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.

"All right guys, let's go down and eat."

There was a mad dash to the door, and they all ran screaming down the hill, joining all the other campers who were doing the same and were just as hungry. Ian and Shawn moved at a slower rate, and were joined by Danin and Ann before they even made it to the top of the hill.

Ann was wearing shorts and a pink tank top, and Shawn frowned when he saw her bandaged knee.

"What happened to you?"

"Ian ran me over when I was out jogging," she told him with a smile.

Ian scowled.

"It was an accident."

"Are you really the top of your class at the Air Force Academy?" Ann asked, ignoring the comment. She knew it was an accident, or she wouldn't have said anything.

Shawn answered for Ian, knowing that Danin had been the one to tell her fellow counselor that particular bit of information.

"He's so far ahead of the rest of us that I'm surprised they didn't just graduate him this year."

"Can they _do_ that?"

Shawn shrugged.

"I don't know. But he's pretty sma-"

"Can we talk about something else?" Ian asked, annoyed. God, there was nothing he hated more than being the center of attention.

"What are _you_ studying, Ann?" Shawn asked. He remembered from the introductions the day before that she was at college, he just didn't remember if she'd said what she was taking.

"I'm a Psych major," she told him. "At Yale."

Proving that she was far from stupid, herself.

"But you're from this area?" Shawn asked.

Ann nodded.

"I went to high school with Danin's big sister, but this is my first time at camp."

"Are you having fun?"

She smiled, casting an amused glance at Ian, who noticed it immediately and predictably, scowled.

"I'm having a great time."

They entered the dining room, then, and the four of them were struck by just how noisy and crowded it was. Especially around the table that River had chosen for the kids from Australia. Not only were their boys in the chairs, but there were several female counselors gathered around as well, drawn to River's sunny personality and cheerful nature. And he looked like he was having the time of his life being in the center of it all.

"Not as much fun as some people, though…"


	19. 19

Breakfast was pancakes and scrambled eggs, with syrup that seemed to be dripping all over everything by the time the meal was over. It was, after all, the nature of little boys to make messes as they ate, and the boys from Australia were _not_ exceptions to that rule. By the time they'd finished eating and had started stacking dishes, Ian was having trouble getting his fingers apart from each other – and he hadn't even _had_ syrup.

"Okay, Campers!" Gary moved to his customary position in the front of the room, obviously ready to give out the announcements for the morning, and everyone turned their attention to him, while Shawn tried to get a fork unglued from his hand.

Gary waited until he had everyone's attention, and then held up his copy of the schedule.

"Once I excuse you back to your cabins, I want you to go and clean up a little." He watched as River pulled his hand away from his face, leaving a trail of syrup from his fingers to his hand. "Your cabins, _and_ yourselves. You'll have twenty minutes, and then when the bell rings, you're excused to your morning activity."

He looked down at the paper in his hand, well aware that none of them knew what their morning activity would be.

"Japan. You and Peru will be at the waterfront this morning. So change into your bathing suits."

There were excited murmurings from the members of those two cabins, but Gary ignored that and continued.

"Russia and Spain, you're at the corral. Australia and Romania, you're up in the field, and Egypt and Argentina, you two cabins will be down at the lagoon – again, you'll need bathing suits, as well." He looked around. "Questions, counselors?"

There were assorted headshakes, and he made a motion with his hands, shooing them away.

"Off with you, then."

The campers stood up en mass and headed for the door, some of them with pieces of cutlery still sticking to their hands and clothing and one seven year old girl with a napkin stuck firmly in her hair. Gary couldn't help but smile as he watched them go, although he did wonder why they still allowed syrup at any meal.

OOOOOOOO

"What are we going to be doing?" Chance asked.

"No clue," River admitted, waving the boy over to him. The Californian was experienced with syrup (and glue) messes on little ones, and knew that the best way to make sure the boys were all completely syrup free would be to wash it off himself. So he'd taken a hand towel and had wet it in the sink, and had grabbed the nearest boy – Grant – and had thoroughly cleaned the syrup off him. Now he was working his way through the rest of them, while they speculated about what was to come, and Ian and Shawn helped them make their beds and clean up their discarded pajamas and other clothing. "We'll probably have to wait until we get there to find out."

There were grumbles about this, but not many – these boys were very good-natured, and the anticipation was part of the fun, right?

River had just washed the last of the boys when the bell finally rang, and the kids darted out of the cabin like rats off a sinking ship. Ian, River and Shawn all went outside, watching as their boys ran off to the ball field, and as the rest of the camp came boiling out of their own cabins and headed off to their own assigned areas. Danin, Ann and Sierra – who were all in Romania – were walking together towards the ball field with a small group of their own girls, and River, of course, noticed this immediately.

"Hey! Wait up you guys!"

Ian scowled as the girls all turned around at the call and then came to a stop. The little girls surrounding them all stopped, too, watching as the three counselors headed their way – River walking a little faster than the other two, and Ian down right dragging his heels.

"Did you tie your kids up and leave them hanging on the coat racks?" Danin asked as River came up beside them, a warm smile for all three of them, and the sun shining brightly off his Hawaiian shirt.

"Nah. They're probably at the field and halfway done with whatever it is we're doing," he told them, smiling at their little girls so cheerfully that the little ones couldn't help but smile back – even though they didn't like sharing their counselors with a boy.

"They _can't_," one of the girls said, firmly. "They have to wait for us!"

River shrugged, pretending innocence.

"You'd better run up there, then, and see what they're doing…"

The girl gave him a suspicious look – which was joined by all the other girls giving him a similar look – and then she let go of Ann's hand and took off at a run, anxious to make sure that the boys hadn't reached the field first and taken all of the fun before they had managed to even get there. Right behind her went the other little girls, and Ann shook her head, amused, as Ian and Shawn walked up.

"You're really good with them. Too bad you're a guy; you'd make a _great_ counselor for little girls."

Shawn snickered, and even Ian had a glint of amusement in his dark eyes at that particular comment. River reached out and pulled Shawn into a headlock, giving him a noogie.

"No comment from the peanut gallery, Adams, or I'll tell Gary that you asked to be in charge of all the stinkiest, smelliest jobs."

Shawn laughed, and easily pulled himself out of River's grasp – he wasn't one of Bra'tac's student's for nothing, after all.

"I'm already sharing a cabin with you guys," he retorted, moving to stand over by Ann and Danin, where he'd be shielded. "How much stinkier can it get?"

"Smart ass."

Ian made a grab for Shawn, and Ann was almost frightened by how quickly he moved. She didn't even see him tense or anything, but the next thing she knew, he was on the same side of them as Shawn, and had grabbed the younger boy into a headlock of his own. And this time, while Shawn struggled, laughing, to get free, he couldn't. Ian let him go only a moment later, though, his point proven, and Ann smiled to see him finally relaxing his guard a little around them. All six of them were in good spirits when they reached the ball field. And found it set up with bases, and their kids already holding gloves and bats and balls.

"Baseball?" Danin asked.

"_Softball_," Gary corrected, grinning at the kids. "We don't _really_ want to use a hard ball with them, and a softball won't fly as far when someone hits it, so we don't have to worry about losing the ball."

Of course, since the ball that he held in his hand was easily as bright as the shorts River was wearing, Ian doubted that they'd have any danger of that.

"Line up on the line, guys!" Gary called to the kids, gesturing for the counselors to do the same. As they moved to obey, Gary already started separating the kids into two teams. Co-ed teams that would mingle the two cabins together a bit better. The counselors were separated as well; Ian, Sierra and Ann onto one team, while Danin, Shawn and River were put on the other.

"Each team needs a pitcher," Gary said, as he gestured for Ian's team to head to the outfield, and River's to head in and start getting in line for bats. The bases weren't far apart, in recognition of the short legs and slight power the hitters would have, but it'd definitely make them do some running around. Especially if a kid actually managed to hit the ball.

"Ian can pitch for us," Ann said, tossing him the ball with an amused glance, and waiting for the scowl. Which appeared immediately.

"I don't-"

"Sure!" Sammy yelled from right beside the pitcher's mound. "_Ian_ can pitch!"

Ian sighed, looking at the bright ball in his hand.

"Fine."

How hard could it be?

He turned, watching as Chance came up to the plate, swinging the bat in his hands experimentally.

"Ready?"

The boy nodded, grinning excitedly. Everyone loved being up to bat, right?

Restraining himself at the last minute, because Chance was a little kid, after all, Ian tossed the ball towards him, underhanded, and aiming more for the bat than for the home plate. Sammy swung with all his might, and connected on the very first try. The bright ball came screaming right back at Ian, striking him in the gut before he could even think about dodging out of the way.

"Oof…"

It wasn't deadly. Not that it didn't sting a little, but it didn't knock him down or anything. It just took the breath out of him. As Chance hurried off to first base, while Ian still nursed his side, Gary gave Ian a worried look.

"Are you okay, Ian?"

The cadet nodded, and grunted a little as he turned his attention to the next batter, already feeling a welt where he'd been struck.

Maybe he didn't want to be the pitcher, after all…


	20. 20

"I don't _want_ to be the pitcher anymore."

Ian's voice held more petulance than annoyance, but for once, he would have been well within his rights to be annoyed. He'd been pitcher for two innings (they were playing that everyone on the team batted, and then the other team was up) and out of those two innings and twenty batters, Ian had already been hit by a line drive ball four times. Three hit by his own boys, and one hit by one of the Romanian girls. All had struck him in the stomach and chest with varying degrees of velocity and he was really starting to ache.

"Aww, don't be such a baby, Ian."

He scowled at Ann, who was standing close by, helping one of her girls with her shoelace.

"_You're_ not the one they're using as target practice."

She smiled.

"It's a _softball_."

If she'd been a guy, Ian would have thrown the ball at her, just to prove how hard it really hurt. As it was, he just scowled again, which unaccountably made the little girl who was being helped giggle.

He lifted his shirt, looking at the red welts that were decorating his chest and stomach – at least the line drive Shawn had whacked at him had been off the mark enough that he'd been able to dodge it. That one would have really _hurt_, since Shawn had a lot more power behind his swing than the little kids did.

"I bruise easily, you know…?"

"Come on, Brooks," River called from the home plate, where he was swinging the bat. He was first up this time, and he was anxious to play – not listen to Ian whine. "Throw me the high heat."

Ian just managed to keep from telling Hayden to fuck himself – _barely_ – and lowered his shirt. There was no sympathy in Ann's expression – only amusement – and he was pretty sure that she wasn't going to offer to be the pitcher for him. He sighed, and turned to River, who grinned, swinging the bat and showing him where to put the ball. Like he was going to accommodate the overly tanned wise-ass by throwing him the ball where he wanted it. Besides, he was pitching _underhanded_, and there was no such thing as high heat when the ball was coming in at a whopping 4 miles an hour.

He looked at Brian, who was playing catcher, making sure the little boy was ready, and pitched the ball. River, of course, swung immediately, and the contact was solid. Ian heard the dull thud as the wood bat hit the softball, but the ball came at him way too fast for him to dodge it – although he tried.

"Watc-"

That was all Ian heard of River's warning cry, because the next thing he heard was the thud of the ball hitting him in the head, and then a searing pain that dropped him like a rock.

OOOOOOOOO

His face pale and concerned, Jack O'Neill entered the infirmary at what could only be called a quick trot, even though he was trying to hide just how worried he was. A medic met him at the entrance, and Jack rocked back on his heels trying to avoid a collision.

"Major O'Neill's in the bed to the far left, sir," the medic told him without preamble.

Jack nodded, and headed that direction, and was immediately intercepted by Janet Fraiser.

"Don't panic, Colonel. She's going to be fine."

"What happened?"

"She tripped on one of the steps in the command center and went down. But-"

"Is she hurt?"

Janet shrugged, affecting an unconcerned expression – knowing that it would help keep him from worrying as well. Well, it'd help a little bit, anyways. Maybe.

"She hurt her knee; it's sprained and swollen, but nothing is broken – and there's a nasty welt on her chin that's going to bruise. It looks like that's what she hit on the step. Luckily, she was going _up_ the steps instead of down them, or she might have really hurt herself. As it is, it's not serious, but she's going to have a little trouble moving around for the next couple of days."

"No permanent injury?" Jack didn't like the thought that Sam had hit her head – even though Janet didn't seem too concerned.

Janet shook her head.

"No. She won't even need to stay in the infirmary once I've finished with my tests. But she's going to need help moving around – and I'd prefer she stays off her feet with the leg elevated for a while."

"How long?"

"A couple of days. I'll inform General Hammond that I advise light duty for the next couple of days – or maybe just a couple of days _off_."

"Sam won't like that," Jack said, shaking his head. "She's working on that… whatever it is… thing, and-"

"Jack?"

Sam was pretty sure she'd heard Jack's voice, but the curtain around her bed was closed, so she couldn't be positive. Until a moment after she called his name, the curtain moved and he appeared out of nowhere, his worried eyes belying his forced smile.

"Hey," he told her as he looked her over. Her left knee was heavily bandaged – just to immobilize it Jack knew from personal experience – and like Janet had said, there was a welt on her chin that was well on its way to bruising. "How do you feel?"

"Like a klutz."

He smiled, like she'd intended for him to, and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Tripped on the stairs, huh?"

She nodded, flushing with embarrassment and chagrin.

"Please tell me they didn't get it on the security cameras…"

Jack's smile was a little more relaxed, now. She was able to joke with him, despite the injury, and that – of course – made him feel a lot better.

"I'll be selling copies on the internet as soon as I can get hold of one…"

She slapped his arm, her eyes filled with amusement now, and Jack reached over and brushed his fingertips against her cheek.

"_Really_… how do you feel? If you want, we can recall Ian and get him to take care of-"

"Janet says it's not serious, Jack, and it doesn't feel _that_ bad." She had no intention of calling Ian – although he'd probably welcome the call by now. "I'm not going to have him hovering around me just because I took a little fall…"

Besides, Ian wasn't their medicinal tool to be used for every little injury. As far as Sam was concerned, that healing gift seemed to take something out of him every time he used it, and she wasn't going to let him use it on her when mother nature would do just as good a job of healing her – even though it would take a few more days.


	21. 21

Something cold pressing against his forehead brought Ian back to the real world, and he came to with a start.

"Easy…"

A hand against his chest held him down, and he opened his eyes, to find himself on his back with a crowd of people looking down at him, varying degrees of concern in their faces, and tears in many of the eyes of the little ones.

"Stay still for a minute," the same voice told him, and Ian turned his gaze on the speaker. A woman in her mid thirties, maybe, who was watching him with a look that automatically made him think of Janet Fraiser. "I want to have a look at that bump."

"I'm fine."

"See? I told you he wasn't dead…"

Ian turned to the sound of River's voice and saw that the Californian was talking to one of the little girls, whose cheeks were smeared with moisture and her eyes were bright with tears.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" The woman asked, bringing Ian's attention back to her.

He scowled around the ache in his head – which was a serious pounding.

"Eight."

She frowned.

"Ian…" Shawn said, warningly from somewhere in the same area as River.

Ian sighed, and cooperated.

"_Two_."

"Do you know where you are?"

"Yes."

She frowned, again, looking into his eyes, and Ian knew she was looking at his pupils to make sure they were normal.

"Is he okay?" Ian heard Gary Hines ask.

"It looks like it," the woman said. "Just a knock on the head. We'll keep it iced for a while." She smiled at Ian, pressing the ice pack – for that was what he'd felt against his forehead – a little firmer against his head. "I'd say your softball career is at a standstill, though. At least for the day."

Then it was worth the headache as far as Ian was concerned. He sat up, looking around, and felt his head swimming at the sudden motion. He must have paled, as well, because the woman – who Ian was certain now was the Camp Nurse – gave him a worried look.

"I'm okay," he told her, before she could suggest some continued treatment. "My head hurts, that's all."

"Well… I'll give you some aspirin for the pain – with the ice pack helping to numb the outside, that should take care of most of the ache."

Hopefully.

"Are you okay, Ian?" Sammy asked, coming over and squatting down beside him now that he was in a sitting position. The boy's eyes were wide and afraid – and when Ian glanced at the others, he saw they still looked afraid, too. Dumb little Oompaloompas.

"I'm fine, Sammy."

"He's tough," Shawn said, reaching down and ruffling the boy's hair. "He survived being attacked by a _bear_, remember? What's a softball compared to that?"

Ian extended his hand to River, who took it and carefully pulled him to his feet. Again Ian felt a rush of lightheadedness, but he shook it off and allowed the nurse to guide him over to the side of the ball field while Gary called the kids and the rest of the counselors back to the game.

"You were attacked by a bear?" The nurse asked him as she gestured for him to sit down and then reached into a pouch she was wearing around her waist. A portable first aid kit was Ian's first guess, which proved correct when she pulled out a bottle of water and a packet of aspirin.

"Yeah."

He took the aspirin from her gratefully and downed them, washing them down with a generous drink of water.

"A _real_ bear?"

He nodded, and turned his attention to the game – where he saw that Ann was now pitching – figuring that if he appeared to be watching the game, then the nurse wouldn't ask him about the bear attack. Luckily, she was more concerned about him keeping his ice pack in place.

OOOOOOOOOO

"You _sure_ you're okay?"

"Jesus, Hayden, stop pestering me. I already told you I was fine."

The game had lasted another five fun innings before it had ended and the kids had all been set loose for free time until the bell rang for lunch. River and Ian were heading down to the main building to get a table, while Shawn had taken the boys down to the waterfront to look at the ski boat, and maybe check out other possible activities.

"I hit you pretty hard…"

"_You_ didn't hit me. The ball did."

"I hit the _ball_."

"It's not like I was trying to strike you out, so try not to break your arm patting yourself on the back…"

River grinned, glad that Ian was feeling good enough to be grumpy. The bump above his right eye was about the size of a chicken egg, and it was already a deep purple around the edges. He was lucky, whether he cared or not.

"You couldn't strike a match…" River told him as they headed down the hill, and now there were campers running around them, so Ian would have to watch his language once more. Which he realized immediately, and forced him to bite back his favorite curse.

"Screw you, Hayden…" It wasn't quite the same, but it got the message across.

"Wow, what happened to you?"

Hank had been walking up the hill to meet them, several of his boys walking with him, and they all stopped to stare at the bump on Ian's head.

"I hit him with a softball," River said, grinning when Ian glanced over at him with a look of disgusted annoyance. "Dropped him like a stone."

"He got lucky."

Hank smiled, deciding that it couldn't be all that serious if they could joke about it.

"Did you see the nurse?"

"Yeah."

"Once he _woke up_." River added. Now that he was sure Ian wasn't going to fall down dead, River was more than willing to have his fun at Ian's expense. "I knocked him out."

"Really?"

Ian sighed, and headed towards the door. He should have just stayed in bed that morning.


	22. 22

Throughout the entire lunch meal, Ian was the subject of a lot of stares and winces of sympathy. All of the counselors found a reason to come over to Australia's tables, and River was more than happy to tell them all the story of what had happened – especially his part of it – and now that they were certain Ian was okay, the little boys thought it was a funny story, too, and shared the story, too, anxious to show that they knew what had happened. Add to that the fact that Romania's little girls also knew what had happened, and they, too, were eager to tell the story – again, now that they weren't afraid Ian was going to die, it was a funny story to them, too and everyone knew what had happened before the meal was out. Much to Ian's annoyance.

"What's next?" Shawn asked, as he and Brian handed out dessert (cookies and ice cream).

"Activity," Ian said, when River looked at him for the answer. The boys had also figured out that Ian somehow always knew what the schedule was, even though none of them had ever seen him look at the paper. "Doesn't say what."

"I hope we're _swimming_," Wilson said, excitedly. "The water looks great, and it's hot."

"I don't _want_ to swim," Sammy said, shaking his head.

"What do _you_ want to do?" River asked, munching down his cookie and reaching for another.

Sammy shrugged.

"I just don't want to swim."

Before River could reply, Gary stepped up to the front of the room, waiting for the kids and counselors to notice him and quiet down without actually asking for silence. Sure enough, everyone quieted down.

"Okay, campers!" Gary said, smiling at the excited looks they were giving him. None of them had any idea what they were going to be doing from one activity to the next (which was done on purpose) so it was all new and exciting to them. "Egypt and Argentina; you'll be heading to the fire pit once we're finished with lunch. Australia and Romania? You're going to the corrals. Japan and Peru to the gym, and Russia and Spain report to the lagoon. Make sure you bring bathing suits." He glanced over at Ian, obviously wondering how he was doing, but then turned his attention back to the kids at all the other tables.

"Any questions?"

There were a lot of head shaking and no hands rose, so Gary smiled and clapped his hands together, enthusiastically.

"Stack your dishes, then, and let's get going!"

There was a rustle of activity, then, and the boys of Australia were talking excitedly.

"We're going to be riding!"

"Yeah!"

"I've never done it before."

"Me, either, but it's going to be great."

Ian frowned, looking over at Shawn and River while the boys stacked their dishes.

"Aren't they a little small to be riding horses?"

River smiled.

"You're not worried about them, are you?"

Ian scowled.

"Of course not."

"They have _ponies_, Ian," Shawn said before the two had a chance to get into it. "Horses for the older kids, but ponies are brought in for this camp group."

"How do you know that?" River asked, impressed.

"I asked Gary."

Meaning he had been worried about the idea of his six year olds riding horses and had brought that concern to the Camp Director.

"How's the head, Ian?"

They were interrupted by Gary's arrival at their table. The Camp Director was accompanied by the camp nurse – whose name was Mandy, Ian knew.

"It's fine," Ian told him, looking at both of them.

"Are you going to be okay to continue with the kids today?" Gary asked. "If you need a break, I'm sure Shawn and River can handle things. There will be wranglers at the corral to help with the ride…"

Ian shook his head. As much as he liked the idea of not doing anything for the rest of the day, he didn't like being coddled, and didn't like the idea of them thinking he needed a break. He'd only hit his head, for shit's sake.

"I'm fine."

Shawn looked at Ian, surprised. He'd actually figured the New Yorker would jump at the chance to get away from the boys for a while.

Hines looked at Mandy, who shrugged. The choice was Ian's, really. If he felt like doing activities, then he could.

"Okay," Gary said, relieved. "Make sure your boys are wearing jeans… shorts won't work well for riding."

Which meant Shawn and River both had to change, too. Ian, of course, was already in jeans.

"Let's go, guys," Shawn said, standing up and gesturing for the boys to head back to the cabin. The boys scrambled out of their seats and rushed for the door, jostling with the other campers who were also heading back for their cabins to change for their own activities, and Gary went over to intercept Ann and Danin to remind them that their girls needed to be in jeans, too.

"This is going to be interesting," River said to Ian as they headed towards the door as well.

"Why do you say that?" Ian asked, curiously.

"I've never ridden before."

Ian snorted.

"Not a lot of horses on the high seas, huh?"

"Have _you_?" River countered, not at all annoyed at the teasing.

"Of course."

"Bullshit."

Ian smirked.

"I'll loan you my icepack later…"

"What are you talking about?"

"You'll see."


	23. 23

There were 16 ponies saddled up and waiting for them when Romania and Australia reached the corral. There were also four men there, all wearing dusty western gear that marked them as the horse wranglers. Two of them Shawn knew. They'd been the wranglers at Millcreek camp as long as Shawn had been coming there. Jacob and Tom recognized Shawn just as quickly, and both smiled when they saw him.

"Shawn! What are you doing here?"

Shawn smiled, shaking hands with the two brothers.

"I'm counseling the six year olds."

"Are you old enough for that already?" Tom asked, feigning surprise. "We're getting old, little brother."

Jacob smiled as well.

"It happens, I suppose. Ready for a quiet ride?"

Ian had been looking at the ponies, watching while the boys gathered around just as excited at the prospect of a ride as the Romanian girls were. He noticed that none of the ponies wore bridles; they were wearing hackamores, which were bitless, and wondered how the kids were supposed to guide their mounts with the reins that were looped over each saddle horn. Before he could ask, though, one of the other two wranglers stepped forward, smiling warmly at the campers who were gathered around their counselors.

"How many of you have ever been on a horse before?"

Only a small handful of hands went up, and three of them belonged to Shawn, Ian and Danin. Two of the girls from Romania raised their hands, and Chance was the only boy from Australia.

"Well, that's more than we normally get," the wrangler said, reassuringly. There were a lot of relieved sighs, since some of the kids had apparently been concerned that if they hadn't ridden before they might not be allowed to ride that day. "Let's get you each a mount, okay?"

He, Tom and the other wrangler started matching kids to ponies, while Jacob gestured for the counselors to join him.

"I know how Danin and Shawn ride," Jacob said to Ian. "How much time have you spent on a horse?"

Ian shrugged.

"Enough to know that I'm supposed to face the same direction as the end with the ears."

Jacob grinned.

"You ride well?"

"Yeah."

"Good." He looked at Sierra, Ann and River. "Don't worry. We have fairly docile animals for those who've never ridden before."

River didn't look reassured at all.

OOOOOOOOO

It took them a bit to get prepared, but they had all afternoon for riding so it wasn't as bad as it might have seemed. The ponies were sweet-tempered creatures that were the perfect size for the small children, and each child was supplied with a helmet, which they were sternly warned absolutely had to stay on or they wouldn't get to ride. This was simple safety and the counselors were glad to see it. They were also glad to see that the ponies weren't really going to be controlled by the kids. Yes, they had reins to hold onto, but they were mostly for show, since the ponies were divided into two groups and put on a lead rope, which strung each group out between two of the wranglers. Plenty of room for them to move freely and for the kids to think they were on their own, but with enough tautness that if a pony became unruly (which had never happened during a junior camp) that the wranglers would be able to keep it under control.

The counselors, however, were on horses, and they weren't a part of the string. It didn't bother those who had ridden, of course, and River scowled when he saw how effortlessly Ian swung up into his saddle, which was on a big black gelding named Laptop.

Adept at anything to do with the surf, and not so good with the turf aspect, River had a bit more trouble getting into his saddle, which was sitting atop a solid-looking gray horse name Fruit Fly that looked to be almost asleep. And promptly winced when he hit the saddle horn.

"You okay?" Jacob asked, noticing the look.

Since the last thing he wanted to do was mention whacking his family jewels with eight six-year-old girls watching him, River just nodded.

"Ian?" Tom said, gesturing at the New Yorker. "You and Danin take point. Just follow the trail, and try to keep your horses at a steady walk for the moment."

They'd already been told that they wouldn't be going faster than a trot, which would seem plenty fast enough to the young riders.

Ian nodded, and he and Danin urged their mounts to the front of the group, looking back to see the ponies start out, moving easily in their long lines, and the kids clutching saddle horns at the sudden motion.

"Where did you learn to ride?" Danin asked Ian, once they were all moving. "I thought you were from New York…"

"We have horses in New York," Ian said.

She blushed.

"I didn't mean that I didn't think they didn't have _horses_," she said. "I meant… where do you ride in the middle of a big city?"

Ian shrugged.

"Not all of New York is the city – although there are riding trails right there in Central Park. My mother had a friend who had a stable of riding horses in the upper part of the state, and she taught me."

"I see."

Ian's horse shied to the side, dancing a little, and for a moment he was preoccupied by keeping the horse under control. Danin's horse ended up being the reason he'd shied. The gelding she was riding apparently didn't like the horse Ian was on, and he'd tried to nip him while the two had been talking. When he tried it again only a few moments later, they figured it out, even as Laptop danced sideways once more. Luckily, Ian and Danin were both experienced enough to know that they needed to keep their horses separated to avoid any trouble, so Ian moved Laptop just a little ahead of Danin's horse, which was fine, since he didn't want to carry on a conversation anyways.

"You're so abused," Ian told his horse, slapping its shoulder with the hand that wasn't holding his reins.

Laptop snorted his agreement, and danced again, frisky and ready to run.

"Is he having trouble?" River asked, looking ahead of them at Ian and his horse, who seemed to be trying to escape.

Shawn shook his head.

"Doesn't look like it. Probably just has an energetic horse." Shawn's horse was just as frisky, but much better in a crowd, which made it possible for Shawn to ride beside River and keep an eye on him. So far, the Californian seemed to be doing okay – although he looked uncomfortable.

"Better him than me."

Shawn grinned, and looked back at the string of ponies following them. The boys and girls were interspersed and were chatting happily, whooping it up and generally having a grand time, which was what they were supposed to be doing.

So far, so good.


	24. 24

"I'll be right back," Shawn told River, clucking his horse and urging her to move up to the front of the group so he could see how Ian and Danin were doing. Besides, River wasn't much fun to ride with; he was already shifting around in his saddle trying to find a comfortable position – and Shawn knew that he wasn't going to find one.

Shawn's horse was a little dun colored mare named Sunflower, who was more than willing to go at a faster than walk pace – even if it was only for a moment. As she trotted past Danin's horse, the gelding proved that Laptop wasn't the only horse he didn't like, and he tried to nip Sunflower. Instead of shying away like Ian's horse had, Sunflower lashed out with a rear hoof, causing Danin's gelding to dodge to the side, squealing a protest.

Hearing the commotion, Ian pulled Laptop to a stop and turned him, just in time to see Shawn's mare try for another kick. Obviously they were having problems with horses getting along, and that wasn't going to work. Luckily, the wranglers were just as quick to catch on.

"Hold up a minute, guys…"

The ponies all came to a stop then the strings halted, and Tom, who was leading the first string, clucked his horse forward to join the three counselors, just in time for Danin's grumpy gelding to take another nip at Laptop. Ian's horse shied again, violently, and this time he stumbled, and went down.

Ian managed to avoid being thrown, but when the black gelding rolled, he jumped out of his saddle; quick enough to avoid having the horse roll over onto him – which _really_ could have hurt. Laptop scrambled to his feet, and Ian was quick to catch the reins he'd dropped when getting clear.

The black horse was trembling, and Tom got out of his saddle and came over to check him out, running his hands along the animal's legs and feeling for swelling.

"You okay?" He asked Ian.

"Yeah."

"His ride's over for the day."

Ian wasn't surprised. He could see the way the horse was favoring one of his legs.

"Want me to take him back?"

"You mind?"

"No, not at all."

Better that than trying to ride him or something and hurting him.

Tom looked up at Danin, whose gelding was now acting like a perfect gentleman.

"Ian, get up behind Danin, and head back with Laptop. Just let him loose in the corral and switch your gear over to another horse. Grab Buttercup, Danin. We should have given him a chance to come out, anyways, but I wanted to try out the new horses."

"We get to come back, though, right?" Danin asked.

Tom nodded, smiling.

"You can catch up."

Which meant they'd be allowed to gallop.

"Okay."

"Don't dawdle."

Ian nodded at the same time Danin did, and she moved her foot out of the stirrup and offered him a hand to help him up behind her. As much as Ian would have rather gone with Shawn – or even River – Shawn's mare wasn't big enough to easily carry double, and River was not a competent enough rider to manage away from the group.

"We'll be right back," Danin promised, as she clucked to her horse, urging him to get moving. Laptop followed willingly behind as Ian held his reins, limping a little, but moving well enough that they could manage an easy trot.

"Where are _you_ going?" River called to Ian as the two horses went past the group, going the wrong direction..

"Shawn can tell you."

Ian didn't feel like explaining, and he didn't have to.

"What's going on?" River asked Shawn when the younger counselor came back to his position beside the Californian.

"Ian's horse is was injured, so they're going to go back and exchange him."

River wouldn't have minded going back. He'd pretty much decided that riding _wasn't_ something he enjoyed. His ass was killing him, his thighs were already knotting up, and every time the horse moved, the motion pushed him against that freaking saddle horn, no matter how far back on the saddle he tried to sit.

"I'm jealous."

Shawn grinned.

"They have to come back."

Oh.

River sighed, and adjusted his position in the saddle – again – and wished that the torture would end.

OOOOOOOOO

"Which one's Buttercup?" Ian asked fifteen minutes later.

It hadn't taken them long to get back to the corral (the ponies weren't the fastest creatures in the world, and even at a trot the horses' long legs were enough to make up ground quickly). Besides, it wasn't all that far. Now Danin was unsaddling Laptop, while Ian said he'd get the replacement.

"The brown horse with the black legs." Danin said, pointing at a horse that was standing by himself at the far end of the corral.

Yes. _Buttercup_ was a perfect name for a brown horse, Ian decided sarcastically. With a name like that, he'd expected a _yellow_ horse – and a _mare_, even though Tom had referred to it as a he when he'd told Danin to get him.

"Watch out; he's not a very social fellow."

Well, then, they'd have something in common, wouldn't they?

The New Yorker entered the corral, pushing aside a curious pony that came over to see if he had a treat.

"Get back, you little goompa."

He didn't fool the pony – or Danin, for that matter. Both could hear that he wasn't annoyed with the attention – and Danin could tell from his tone of voice that Ian actually liked horses. She smiled, watching him as she started to slip the bridle off her horse.

With the pony – and then a couple of other horses following him – Ian made his way to the brown horse standing alone. It was a gelding, too, which wasn't a big shock, since geldings were normally far more easy-going than stallions – and a hell of a lot brighter, as far as Ian was concerned. After all, stallions were a lot like River; they had one thing on their minds when a female came into view, and every other thought ran out their ears like rainwater through a sewer.

Buttercup laid his ears back when Ian got close, warning the New Yorker that he wasn't really in the mood to make friends.

"Hey, _I_ didn't name you, shit for brains," Ian said, his voice relaxed and warm. "So don't hate me. Come on… I need a ride, and I'm tired of riding double…"

The horse snorted, and sniffed at Ian's outstretched hand. And then tried to take a bite out of it. Ian was way too quick to fall for something like that, though, and he slapped the sensitive nose lightly, reminding him that a hand wasn't edible. The horse's head came up sharply, but he didn't move away, accepting the reprimand. He'd been testing him, after all.

"Come on, dickless. We need to get going. I promise you can bite River if you want to later."

Buttercup whickered, almost as if agreeing with him, and Ian reached out and scratched the horse's jaw. After a moment, just to make sure they were going to get along okay, Ian took hold of the halter the horse was wearing and led him over to the gate, where Danin was waiting. She'd already turned the Laptop loose into the other corral, where he'd be alone until the wranglers returned to decide where they wanted him, and was waiting with Ian's tack.

"Good job…" she said, opening the gate for Ian and Buttercup.

Ian shrugged.

"He's a pushover."

She smiled.

"Uh huh."


	25. 25

Aside from being saddled with a gay name like Buttercup, Ian's horse was everything he could have asked for. Once they'd managed to get over the attempted biting issue, and the gelding had been saddled and readied, Danin and Ian had swung into their saddles and taken off back down the trail, eager to catch up to the ponies, but more enjoying the gallop – especially since they wouldn't be able to go all out once they'd caught up with the kids and the ponies. Buttercup was fairly agile; while the trail was worn smooth by years of constant use, there were still the occasional root or rock to contend with, and the gelding didn't have any problem with them. Nor did Danin's. They made great time, and less than an hour after they'd left them, they came upon the ponies and kids – almost running into the rear of Jacob's horse, which was at the very end of the last string.

The wrangler steadied his horse, which had shied slightly at the sudden appearance of the two, and flashed Ian and Danin both a look that was slightly annoyed, but mostly relieved.

"Made it back, I see."

"Yeah."

"Buttercup give you any problems?"

Ian shook his head.

"Nah."

Jacob didn't look like he particularly believed him, but the wrangler accepted what he said. The boy wasn't bleeding, so obviously he hadn't been bitten or kicked, anyways.

"Go on and join the others…"

Danin smiled, and she and Ian urged their horses forward, where they slowed to chat with all the kids as they moved beyond them – well, Danin chatted, mostly, Ian flashed a few smiles at his excited boys but didn't make a lot of small talk with them.

"It's about _time_ you got back," Shawn said when they moved up to where he and River were riding in between the two strings of ponies.

"Miss me?" Ian asked.

Danin giggled, and gave River a sympathetic look. The Californian wasn't any more comfortable in his saddle than he'd been when they'd left the camp, and up close, he looked down right miserable.

"Are you-"

Before she could finish her question, her horse reminded her that he didn't like being by other horses – although he'd been nice enough to Buttercup while they'd been running. He lunged for River's horse, teeth first, and the Californian's gelding shied to the side to avoid the bite, spilling River out of his saddle with the motion. Shawn's mare once more proved that _she_ didn't like Danin's horse any more than he liked any of those around him, and she kicked him, which caused him to lunge sideways with any angry squeal. Danin's horse stumbled into Buttercup, who reared in protest, and then lashed out with a rear foot at the other gelding, narrowly missing River, who was just trying to get out of the way.

"Watch out!"

Ian wrenched Buttercup's head down, forcing the gelding to behave, but Shawn's mare had had enough of the young upstart Danin was riding, and she pressed her attack, despite Shawn hauling in on her reins. The mare stepped on River as she charged Danin's mount, and the Californian yelped in pain, and rolled out of the way – right under Buttercup.

Completely instinctual, Buttercup reared to get his unprotected belly away from the possible threat, but before he could lash out at River – which he'd _intended_ to do – Ian reached up and grabbed his ear, yanking him to the side, even in mid-rear. The brown gelding stumbled at the sudden motion and went down, rolling once more, and this time Ian didn't manage to move out of the way. Just as bad, River was under him, too, and when the horse scrambled to regain his footing only a moment later, neither cadet moved to catch him. Both were lying flat on the trail, dusty and battered, and not moving.

Shawn had only managed to keep his mare from pressing her attack on Danin's horse by jumping out of her saddle and hauling her head down by the bridle. Danin had done the same with her gelding, and the wranglers were converging on them, while Ann and Sierra – and sixteen six-year-olds watched in stunned concern. The kids were immobile with shock, and Ann and Sierra just didn't dare bring their horses any closer – for fear of having them start a new fight with the other horses.

A quick glance at the completely unflappable ponies showed them to be standing quietly – although they were watching what was happening as well – so Shawn hurried over to drop to the ground by Ian and River.

"Are you all right?"

River groaned, moving first.

"I don't _like_ horses…"

Relieved that he hadn't been knocked unconscious, Shawn turned to Ian.

"Ian…?"

"I'm not _dead_, Adams, relax…"

He felt like shit, though. Buttercup should have been named _Butterball_, because that horse must have weighed a ton. And all of it had landed on Ian. _And_ River. Ian made a noise that sounded like a groan, and opened his eyes, looking up and finding a growing crowd around him and River.

Buttercup whickered, reaching down with his nose and nuzzling Ian, almost apologetically, and Ian pushed his nose away. He didn't need horse snot all over him just then. Shawn stood up and moved the gelding aside, while Tom and Jacob knelt down by the two counselors.

"Anything broken?"

Ian forced himself into a sitting position – with a little help from Tom – and started checking himself out. It was hardly the first time he'd ever taken a fall, after all – although it'd been a long time since the last time.

"I don't think so… River?"

It was a mark of how concerned he was that he'd called River by his first name, and not Hayden. Something River noticed, even though he ached abominably.

"I'm alive…"

"And unbroken?" Jacob asked, concerned.

River sat up, too, looking around for a moment before turning his attention to himself. Ian reached over to steady the Californian, checking him out without anyone – including River – being any wiser. There was a gash above River's right eye, which was bleeding slightly, but Ian didn't do anything about it – it was _bloody_, but not dangerous – and he had a lot of bruises. Nothing broken, nothing internally injured. He probably felt about as awful as Ian felt, but none of it was serious enough for Ian to wear himself out fixing. Instead the New Yorker reached a hand out to Shawn.

"Help me up."

Shawn wasn't the only one to look concerned at the notion of Ian getting up so quickly after being rolled over on.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

Shawn looked at Tom, who got to his feet and offered Ian one hand, while Shawn took the other. They carefully got him on his feet, and although Ian winced, he didn't sink back to the ground, and he didn't show any signs of being any more hurt than a fair number of bruises.

"We'd better get you two to the nurse…" Tom said, looking down at River, who was just being helped to his feet as well. He was moving just as unsteadily as Ian, but again, nothing appeared to be badly injured or broken, and they all knew it could have been a lot worse.

"I can finish the ride," Ian said.

Jacob shook his head.

"You're done."

Ian scowled, but he didn't argue. Truth be told, he wouldn't have minded stopping – at least for a while.

"Shawn? You take over Tom's spot on the pony string, will you?"

Shawn's mare was good with the ponies, and now that she'd calmed down, they wouldn't have any more problems with her. Especially since Jacob was going to take Danin's horse with him.

"Danin, trade me horses, and then take over my spot on the string. Tom and I will take River and Ian to the camp nurse and then meet you guys either at the end of the trail, or at the corral." He turned to the campers, who were looking a little scared. "You guys listen to your counselors and Joe and Harold, okay?" (Joe and Harold were the other two wranglers).

The kids nodded.

Jacob brought River's gelding back over to him.

"Come on, son… I'll give you a hand up."

River looked like the last place he wanted to be was back in the saddle, but he didn't argue. Instead, he hauled himself back up, wincing as he hit that saddle horn again – a pain that hurt even more than the bruises he'd managed to pick up.

Ian got into Buttercup's saddle, feeling just as achy and looking only a little more steady, and the four of them headed back to camp, taking a side trail that would get them there a lot faster than the main trail.


	26. 26

Author's note: Probably won't get another chapter out today, because of my little jaunt to St. Helens today, so read slowly. Slight language alert, too, just in case you're screening for younger readers.

OOOOOOOOO

Although River insisted he was fine, Jacob and Tom obviously didn't agree because they pretty much insisted on supporting the Californian between them from the corral – where they'd left the horses – to the nurse's cabin. Ian could understand why; River was wobbly and unsteady – although most of that wasn't because of the injuries he'd sustained under the horses. It was from riding in the first place. The Californian hobbled between the two wranglers, more than willing to drape his arms over their shoulders and allow them to take most of his weight as they made their way to the little cabin at the very top and left of the main hill.

The nurse was on the porch of her cabin, sitting on a bench and applying a Band-Aid to the skinned knee of one of the seven-year-old girls, under the watchful eye of Kelly. All three looked up when the four men approached.

"What happened to you guys?" Kelly asked before the nurse could.

"They got in the way of a couple of the horses…" Tom said as they helped River up the steps to the porch.

The Californian winced as he sat down on the hard bench, and Kelly gave him a sympathetic look.

"Anything broken?" She asked.

Ian shook his head, coming over and sitting down beside River. He ached, too, but he knew River wasn't hurt seriously, and he was pretty sure that he hadn't broken anything, either. Bruises and scrapes weren't serious – certainly not worth worrying about.

"We're fine."

"Speak for yourself," River said, leaning back against the front wall of the cabin and watching as the nurse finished with her small patient. "I ache."

"We need to get back to the corral," Jacob said as he and his brother headed back down the stairs. "Come back and finish that ride whenever you're free."

Which wouldn't be that day, they were sure – and they were pretty certain River would never take them up on that offer. Ever.

Before either cadet could answer, Mandy turned to them, her gaze suddenly as intent as any that Ian had seen on Janet Fraiser. She had finished bandaging the little girl's knee and was ready to deal with her more seriously injured counselors.

"Any loss of consciousness?" She asked, reaching out and running her hands gently through River's blonde hair, checking for bumps and cuts.

He shook his head.

"I just got caught underneath one of them."

"Stepped on?"

"Maybe… I'm not sure. It happened pretty quick…" He turned to Ian, knowing that his friend would have remembered everything that he saw.

Ian shrugged, though. He'd been above the melee for the first few moments, and hadn't seen if River had been stepped on or not.

"I'm not sure, either. Probably."

That was probably what had made Buttercup stumble in the first place. Maybe.

"I don't feel any bumps. Did you hit your head?"

River shook his head.

"It's the rest of me that hurts…"

"And you?" she asked, looking at Ian.

He shook his head, too.

"Just one big bruise…"

She didn't exactly accept that, though. Instead, she ran them both through a series of quick motion tests, making sure they had feeling everywhere and nothing was broken. Then she double-checked to make sure they were both visualizing properly, and double-checked their reflexes. After a semi-lengthy exam, she declared them to be battered and bruised but not broken. She gave them ice packs, and told them to use them – after making sure they knew how to use them _properly_ – and then sent them up to their cabin with an admonishment to stay off their feet for a while.

"If I never see a horse again, it'll be too soon," River grumbled as they walked up the hill towards Australia.

"Horses aren't so bad."

"Speak for yourself. My testicles are hiding up somewhere around my liver, and I'm pretty sure they're not going to drop any time soon…"

Ian snorted, but refused to get into any conversation about River's testicles.

"Don't be such a baby."

It could have been a lot worse. Bruises would hurt for a couple of days, but that was it. No casts, no splints, no stitches.

The kids weren't back from their ride yet, so the cabin was echoingly empty – which suited both of them just fine. River dropped onto his bed, icepack already in position, and closed his eyes. And opened them again at a curse from Ian, who had barked his shin getting up onto his bed.

"Fucking rail. I ought to rip it off the fucking bed."

"If you do that, then you'll fall on your head in the middle of the night…" River told him, closing his eyes again. "And I'd hate to have that wake me up."

Ian scowled, and flopped down on his bed, putting one icepack on his shoulder and the other on his elbow – where he was the most sore.

"Dinner's in a couple of hours."

River groaned.

"I can't walk…"

OOOOOOOOOOO

"I can walk."

"Janet said you were supposed to stay off your leg."

"She didn't mean you were supposed to carry me."

"But-"

"Just bring Jake, Jack," Sam told him, shaking her head in mixed amusement and annoyance. "I can use the crutches and get myself into the house."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

He finally gave in, but only because he couldn't figure out a way to make her see reason. She was pretty stubborn sometimes, after all.

"Fine. But I'm cooking tonight, and you're staying off your leg."

Sam nodded. She didn't feel like doing anything, anyways. Her leg was throbbing in time to her heartbeat, and all she really wanted to do was stretch out on the couch and be babied a little. But that didn't include being toted around like a sack of potatoes.

"Fine. Just make something that can't burn. Like salad."


	27. 27

Ian sprawled (as well as he could) on his little bed for almost an hour before he started hearing signs that the boys were finished with their ride. River had long since fallen asleep, but Ian hadn't needed company anyways. He was always able to find something to mull over while alone – and even the aches from his bruises and small cuts didn't distract him all that much. He was pulled from his thoughts by laughter coming from outside the cabin. Laughter that was immediately recognizable as coming from Chance.

Immediately after he decided that, the door was flung open with a crash and the cabin was suddenly filled with boys. All of who were anxious to see their other counselors and make sure they were okay.

"River?"

Wilson was leaning over River, who had been woken up the moment the door crashed open beside his bed. The Californian didn't move his head, though. He simply looked up at the little boy who was leaning over him. Who was immediately joined by Chad, and then Bruce and Grant.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"Of course."

Sammy, Chance and Brian had headed for Ian's bunk, and were scrambling up onto it, holding onto the rail that Ian hated so much. They, too, were watching him with worried expressions, and Ian suppressed a scowl.

"I _told_ you guys they were okay," Shawn said. "See?"

"You guys okay?"

A decidedly female voice came from the door, and now River sat up, wincing and biting back a curse when he felt every ache that he'd already had – which now seemed to be multiplied by a dozen after his nap. The doorway was filled with females; most of them under the age of seven, but Danin, Sierra and Ann were there as well, and Ian had to shake his head at how easy it was to wake River up.

"They're fine," Shawn said.

"I'm _injured_," River corrected. "Probably crippled for life from the unsteady gait on that four-legged menace I had to ride."

Sierra gave him a sympathetic look, while Ann smiled slightly.

"You seem to be moving okay for a crippled man…"

"Well…" River shrugged, looking at the boys, who were still looking concerned. They didn't know he was simply fishing for sympathy from the girls. All they knew was that he was saying he was injured. "I'm young and healthy… I recover quickly…"

Danin grinned, looking over at Ian, who was just visible around the boys who were clinging to his bed.

"Are _you_ okay?"

"Fine."

"He's a tough guy," Shawn said, also noticing the worried looks of the campers. "Don't worry. A couple of horses are nothing compared to a bear…"

There were several nods at that reminder, and they weren't just from the boys. Many of the little girls peeked into the cabin and up at Ian's bed as well. The boys scowled en mass.

"You're not supposed to be here," Sammy said.

"We're with our _counselors_." One of the girls told him, sticking her tongue out at him. "So shut up."

"Melissa…" Ann's hand came down gently on the little girl's shoulder, her voice warning. "Don't be rude."

"He started it."

"No I didn't," Sammy said.

"Yes, you did," another of the girls replied. "You-"

"_You_ shut up," Bruce said, quick to jump to Sammy's defense against the girls.

"Make me."

"Yeah, make her. We'll tell."

"_I'm_ going to tell if-"

"Hey."

Danin's voice was drowned out by the two groups of children suddenly yelling at each other; the boys righteously angry that the girls had invaded their cabin, and the girls upset at having one of their own picked on. Both sides reverted rather quickly (and not surprisingly) to name-calling.

"You're _snotty_!"

"Yeah? You're _stupid_!"

"You're _mean_!"

"You _stink_!"

"So do you!"

"I'm telli-"

"_Hey_!"

Ian's voice broke through the yelling quite nicely, and the irritation in his voice was quick to bring things to a sudden halt. The New Yorker scowled, his head pounding – and now it wasn't because of the horses.

"Stop calling each other names. I mean it."

"They started it," Melissa said, staunchly. "We just came to see how-"

"She's not even supposed to _be_ here!" Bruce said, indignant.

"Stop it. _Now_."

Ann smiled, knowing from a quick look that Ian was already tired of playing referee between the sexes.

"Come on, girls. We need to get cleaned up before we go to dinner. Let's let the boys do the same."

"They _need_ to," one of the girls said. "They're slobs."

"We are not," called Sammy – who actually _was_, but was chafing at being called _anything_ by a girl.

"Are!"

"Are not!"

"_Are_!"

"Are not!"

"A-"

"Come on," Ann said, pulling two of the girls away while Danin and Sierra got the others moving as well. "We'll see you guys at dinner," she called over to Ian and the others.

"Stupid girls," Wilson grumbled, closing the door after sticking his head out to make sure they were really gone.

"Be nice," River said, leaning against the wall as he tried to stretch out muscles that weren't going to be straightened any time soon.

"Why?" Chance asked, his normally cheerful grin gone. "They're just girls."

"Girls are the greatest thing in the world," River said to the boys. He held up his hand, stopping their protests with that simple gesture and a grin. "Yeah, I know. You don't agree now. But you _will_."

"Not me!" Chance said, quickly.

"Me, either!" Sammy agreed.

"Uh uh!"

"Yuck!"

"I'm going to go down and save our table," Ian said, rolling into a more or less upright position and easing himself out of his bed and to the floor. He really _did_ ache a bit, but he'd rather move than listen to this any longer. "I'll see you guys in a bit."


	28. 28

Dinner was noisy. Incredibly so. The kids were all trying to tell each other what they'd done that day – as if they weren't all in the same cabin doing it with them – and trying to be heard over everyone else who were all doing the same thing. Ian's head, which had been pounding when he'd come to the dining room was throbbing now and he picked at his dinner, taking solace in the fact that River didn't look much better than he felt.

"Are you guys all right?" Shawn asked, noticing that neither of his roommates was eating much. Unusual for both of them, since they were normally enthusiastic eaters.

"Just a headache," River said, giving the boys a reassuring grin. "I'll take something for it when dinner's over."

"At least you didn't break your arm," Danin said from the table beside theirs, proving she'd been listening in. At least at that moment.

"What do you mean?" River asked her, curiously.

"Daniel Jackson's first ride here at camp resulted in _him_ breaking his arm, as I recall…"

Shawn shook his head.

"It was his wrist."

"And that was just the beginning…" Danin said, smiling at the looks River and Ian were giving her. "He and Jack – and even Murray – were pretty beat up that week…"

"Why didn't _we_ hear about that?" Ian asked Shawn.

Adams shrugged.

"I didn't think it was something you'd want to know…"

Luckily for Shawn, the conversation was interrupted by Gary's arrival at the front of the room. By now the kids had figured out that when the Camp Director came to the front of the room he was going to tell them what was going to happen next, and the room quieted down without Hines even raising his hand.

"Did you all have a good day?"

There were shouts of glee as each kid tried to be louder than the one beside him or her and the room reverberated with happy cheers. Ian and River both winced, but no one even noticed.

Gary smiled at the enthusiasm, and held his hand up to stop the yelling.

"Good! Now, when dinner's done, we're going to go to the ball field. Stop at the cabins long enough to get a jacket or a sweatshirt, but that'll all you'll need. Okay?"

There were shouts of agreement and assent and Gary gestured for them to finish their meals. Then he walked over to Australia's table, giving Ian and River both a quick glance as he moved up to them.

"Can I have a word, gentlemen?"

He moved slightly away form the table, standing near one of the doors that led outside, and watched as River and Ian got up and walked over to him. Both of them were moving slowly and River was practically hobbling. Which had been one of the reasons that Gary had moved, so he could see them walking and gauge how they were feeling.

"A bit sore?" he asked once they had joined him.

Both of them nodded, River looking chagrined.

"A little."

"Mandy said you might be," Gary told them. "Which is why I wanted to talk to you. Tonight's activity is specifically designed to wear the kids out so they sleep tonight. Which means we're going to run them like crazy. Something I doubt you'll be able to do…"

"Not a chance," River admitted.

Ian simply nodded his agreement.

"I was thinking that you two could be the referees for the games. That way you can still be involved, but not have to run around with them – which will give you a chance to get over your aches a little more."

"Good plan," Ian said, speaking for the first time.

Gary smiled.

"There are two step ladders on either side of the ball field. You'll be on them so you're a little above the games that are being played. When a kid is out, you simply blow your whistle and tell them they're tagged, or it, or whatever the case may be."

"Sounds easy enough," River said. Except for the whole climbing on a ladder part. He'd do that, though, if it kept him from having to run with the energetic kids.

"Go ahead and head up to the ball field as soon as you're done eating," Gary told them. "That way you can be in position before the kids get there."

"I'm done," Ian said.

"Me, too," River agreed.

Gary smiled.

"We'll see you up there."

OOOOOOOO

Being a referee wasn't so bad. The games were all running games like Gary had told them; the kids were separated into two large teams and spent most of the evening running as they tried to escape from the people who were 'it'. When one was tagged – either with a hand, or hit with a playground ball, depending on the game – he and River simply had to call the kid out, or 'it'.

River blew his whistle to get the attention of the kids he wanted to point out or it, but Ian actually called the kids – and not _only_ the kids from Australia – by their names when he called them out, making most of the counselors how in the world he'd managed to learn the names of the kids when they could swear he'd never even talked to most of them.

It made things go even smoother, since there was no looking around to see who was being pointed at.

The rest of the counselors were running with their kids, laughing and enjoying themselves, even though none of them was anywhere near as energetic as their charges. Shawn, of course, had plenty of experience with running, so he was able to keep up as well as anyone. Better than some. Ann finally came to a halt, leaning against Ian's ladder trying to catch her breath.

"I should have volunteered to be a referee," she said, smiling to tell him she was only teasing.

Ian glanced down at her, and then back to the game, watching as Shawn ran away from several of the other counselors, and kids, all determined to tag him so he would be part of their group of 'its'.

"I think you have to fall off a horse, first."

She laughed, but before she could reply Shawn came tearing past, most of the camp hot on his heels. She dodged to the side to avoid them; crashing into Ian's ladder and sending him tumbling from his already unsteady perch.

Luckily it wasn't that much of a drop, and Ian managed to find something soft to land on.

Ann.

"_Oof_."

It was a breathless sort of yelp, and Ian rolled off her immediately, wincing as her knee gouged into his side when he did.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded, even as several kids and a couple of counselors came rushing over to check on them, having witnessed the accident.

"I'm fine. You?"

"No worse than I was before."

Yeah, it was sarcastic, but it was actually _tame_ for Ian. Although Ann didn't know that.

"I'm sorry."

He sighed, and reached down and pulled her to her feet.

"I guess we're even, now."

It took her a minute to realize what he'd meant, and then remembered that he'd run her over that morning while they were jogging. She smiled, which was meant to reassure those kids who were gathered around them as much as anything.

"Fair enough."

"Okay campers!" Gary's voice broke through the chattering kids, and everyone turned to look at him. He was standing on River's ladder, the Californian now standing on the ground looking Ian's direction as if to make sure he was okay. "Bed time! Get to your cabins and get ready for bed! Lights out in twenty minutes!"

There were assorted groans and grumbling, but no rebellion, and the campers started heading for their cabins. Ian was more than ready to call it a day, despite the fact that the kids weren't. Hopefully, they were sufficiently worn out to actually sleep. He knew he was.


	29. 29

A loud stage whisper woke Ian from what was already a fairly restless sleep.

"Ian…?"

He opened his eyes, and saw Sammy's head just peeking over the edge of the top bunk.

"What?"

"Are you ready to go jogging?"

"What?"

"Are you ready to go jogging?"

"_What_?"

He couldn't be hearing him right.

"_Are you ready to go jogging?"_

Yeah, that was what he was saying, all right.

Ian rolled a little, freeing the hand he'd been sleeping on, and looked at his watch, trying to get his eyes to focus on the glow in the dark hands. The cabin was faintly lit, although the bathroom door was closed, and when he finally managed to see what time it was he saw it was only a little after four AM. He looked back at Sammy, and for the first time saw that the boy wasn't the only one awake. Standing behind Sammy were Chance, Brian and Bruce. All of them were watching him, expectantly.

"It's still early…" he said, softly.

"You said we had to be ready early if we wanted to come."

"Not _this_ early."

Ian shifted again on his mattress, and bit back a groan. He really ached, and honestly didn't even _want_ to go jogging. Hopefully he could send the boys back to sleep and they'd forget about it – or even better, sleep through until breakfast.

"You _promised_," Sammy whispered.

Ian scowled, and rubbed his face, tiredly. He'd taken forever to get to sleep the night before. The mattress was uncomfortable at the best of times, and with all the bruises he had it had been impossible to get into a position that didn't hurt. Now he was being woken up way too early, and the worst of it was… he'd _promised_. Which obviously meant everything to the boys who were watching him, and unfortunately, it meant everything to Ian as well. A promise wasn't something you made unless you planned on keeping it, and he knew that.

"Fine…" he stretched under his blankets, feeling all his muscles protesting. They didn't want to wake up, either. "You guys need to get dressed…"

Which might buy him another half hour.

"We're dressed."

Damn.

He looked at the boys again. Sure enough, they were completely dressed and wearing shoes and everything. He sighed, and gestured for Sammy to move so he could get out of bed. And thought that he could hear his body screaming when he rolled off the bunk, lowering himself to the floor and banging his elbow painfully on the rail that he detested so much.

"God…"

"Are you okay?" Chance whispered.

"Yeah."

He just hurt like a sonofabitch. That was all.

The boys watched as he changed into running sweats and pulled on a t-shirt and his shoes, and then he led them outside, where there was just enough light coming from the east to light up the camp in a dull gray tint that gave the world a slightly monochromic feel.

"Start stretching, guys…"

They probably didn't need it. They were young enough that they were flexible by nature, and their little muscles were just as loose. But _Ian_ needed it, and it was as good a way to keep them occupied as any – and better than some. They copied him, doing the same stretches that he did, and it was a good twenty minutes before he felt he was ready to move at anything faster than a slow walk. Even then, he felt like shit, but at least he was somewhat awake, now.

"Ready?" he asked them.

They nodded, excitedly.

"Stay close to me, but not right on my heels, and try not to wake anyone up…"

Again they nodded, and Ian started off down the hill towards the parking lot, going at a slow trot to warm up and to give himself an idea of just how far he'd have to take them before they'd let him go back to sleep. None of them seemed winded by the time they headed up the hill that led to the trail that led down to the fire put – unfortunately – so he led them that direction, and started down the trail, his shoes making very little noise on the dirt. He could hear the boys behind him, and now they were actually starting to puff a little. It wouldn't be long, now.

A flash of tan at the bottom of the hill drew his attention – and that of the boys – and a couple of bucks went tearing off into the trees towards the lagoon, startled from their early morning browsing by the sudden arrival of the campers.

"Wow!"

"Didja see them!"

"They were _humongous_!"

"Ian! Didja _see_ them?"

"Yeah."

"That was awesome!"

"Wait'll the _others_ hear! They'll want to come jogging with us tomorrow!"

Well, joy.

"Come on, guys…"

The bucks weren't going to come back so they could get another look at them, and Ian wasn't ready to stop running now that he was finally starting to warm up. All the aches and pains were still there, but he was in good shape, and the run was actually making him feel better now that he was doing it.

The boys followed him, still chatting about the deer, and Ian could hear their breathing starting to get ragged.

"Ready to go back?" he asked them about fifteen minutes later. Once he was sure they were all wearing out.

"Are _you_?" Chance asked.

Ian wasn't good with kids, but he knew immediately that if he said he wasn't, the boys would tell him they weren't, either. Even though Sammy was holding his side, and sweat was running off the rest of them. They were ready to go back, and he could cut short his run.

"Yeah. I'm a little tired."

He wasn't, of course, but they didn't need to know that.

"Me, too," Sammy said.

"Me, three," Brian agreed.

"Me, four."

"We'll walk back so you guys can cool off, but remember not to wake anyone else up."

He looked at his watch. It'd take them a good twenty minutes to walk back to the cabin, and then he'd need a shower – and so would they, whether they wanted one or not – and by then it'd be close to time for them all to wake up anyways. He wasn't going to get to go back to bed.

Damn.


	30. 30

Breakfast was as noisy as dinner had been the night before. The kids were all in good spirits, and anxious to see what the new day would bring. While they munched on scrambled eggs, toast and sausages they discussed what they wanted to do that day – and everyone kept an eye on Gary Hines, who was eating his own breakfast at the staff table. They knew he was going to be the one to announce what was coming, and they were eager to get started.

Eventually, the wait ended. Gary pushed his chair back and stood up, and before he even reached his customary spot, the room was more or less quiet, with all the kids watching him.

"Good morning, Campers," Gary said cheerfully. "How did you sleep?"

There were a lot of comments, and he probably didn't hear any of them since they were all shouted at him at the same time. He was used to this, though, and simply smiled, waiting for them to stop talking again before he started.

"We're going to change things up a little today, due to some bad weather coming our way," he told the kids – and the counselors. "We _had_ scheduled a little camp out in the ball field for tomorrow night and the next night – one night for the boys and one night for the girls."

There were excited murmurings at this announcement, since it was the first many of them had heard about it, and again Gary waited for things to die down a little before trying to speak.

"Instead, since we know there's a storm on the way – although we're not sure how much of it we're going to get – we're going to schedule the campout for this evening…"

He trailed off as the kids once more started talking, and now the kids of Australia were practically wriggling in excitement. And they weren't the only ones. All of the kids were excited at the prospect of sleeping outside – even though they weren't really going to be sleeping under the stars, Shawn told Ian and River over the noise. They'd be in tents. Which was fine with Ian, who didn't like camping out any more than he liked camp.

Gary continued once the kids and counselors stopped chatting again.

"I've posted your cabin activities on the board outside the main entrance. Since we're going to be doing the campout tonight, we've canceled campfire…" There were groans of disappointment at this announcement, but Ian couldn't feel anything but relief. "And we'll reschedule them for later this week – rain or shine."

Bah.

Gary smiled when the kids cheered that announcement, and waved his hands for silence.

"So, as soon as you're done eating, one of the counselors from each cabin can go check the schedule for your morning activities."

"Ian?"

River and Shawn both looked at him expectantly, and he scowled, but stood up.

"Fine."

They both grinned, and Ian had to shove his hands in his pockets to keep from flipping them both off. Of course, River was still fairly sore from the day before so Ian wasn't surprised he didn't want to walk anywhere he didn't have to. The Californian had a beauty of a bruise on his forehead, and when he'd come out of the bathroom that morning after a long shower, Ian had seen several more bruises on his chest and arms. He knew how it felt; he was just as bruised and aching – moreso, really – and the only thing that had helped him was the run that morning.

He wasn't the only counselor heading for the door while the others finished breakfast.

"Hey, Ian?"

He turned at the sound of his name, and saw Hank coming up behind him.

"Yeah?"

"How did you know all the names of the kids yesterday?"

"Lucky guesses."

Ian turned back for the door, but the other counselors had heard the question, and they, too, were curious.

"Come on, Ian," Sierra said. "Danin said you have a really good memory, but no one could have learned all the kids' names already. You haven't even talked to any of them…"

He shrugged, but walked away, unwilling to get into the discussion, but wishing that Gina's friend Danin would just keep her mouth shut. He didn't want everyone discussing him.

"What a jerk…" he heard Hank say to the others. He didn't care about that, either. He'd been called a lot worse, after all. And if they thought he was a jerk, maybe they'd stop pestering him. He only had a few more days of this shit to get through, and then he'd be home free.

Ignoring the insult – although he heard a couple of the other counselors actually sticking up for him and telling Hank to be quiet – Ian went outside and looked at the paper that had the new schedule on it.

Waterfront. Australia had been scheduled for a nature walk that morning according to the other schedule, but Ian suspected that Gary correctly assumed that the Australian counselors – River and Ian anyways – wouldn't really be up for taking any long hikes that day. He decided it was nice of the guy. Even River, with all his aches and pains, would want to play in the water.

Ian would rather do the water than any nature walk.

He moved away from the posted note so the other counselors could look at their schedules as well, and headed back inside.

"Well?" River asked when he rejoined them, sitting down at the table and scowling because his plate had been cleared. He wouldn't have minded having some more breakfast. The kids were watching him eagerly, though, and Ian decided their little heads were going pop off if they didn't find out what they were going to be doing – and soon.

"We have a half hour to clean the cabin and then we're supposed to be down at the waterfront."

There was excited cheering at this. The kids had been hoping for a chance to do water stuff – although some of them had played in the water during free time the day before.

Ian noticed that Sammy wasn't cheering with the others, however, but decided he just didn't like the thought of cabin clean up – since that basically meant cleaning up the mess of clothes and junk scattered around his bed and the spare bed that he was using to hold all his stuff.

"What's wrong with you?" River asked under the noise of the excited conversations the boys were now having.

Ian shook his head.

"Nothing."

"You look pretty grumpy – even for you."

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." He stood up, deciding that since he couldn't have any more breakfast there was no sense in sitting around the cafeteria. "I'm going up to the cabin."


	31. 31

_Author's note: Just to answer a couple of questions and comments in reviews: Hank didn't call Ian a jerk in front of too many people. Just a few of the other counselors. And he's a pretty young guy himself and not a professional counselor or anything, so he can be forgiven for being rubbed the wrong way. Thanks for the reviews!_

OOOOOOOO

Ian had already dressed in his shorts by the time River, Shawn and the boys joined him in the cabin. River shook his head.

"Swim trunks, Brooks."

Ian shook his head.

"I don't own any swimming trunks."

He was, in fact, wearing a simple pair of shorts. Navy blue canvas shorts with pockets for his car keys.

"I have an extra pair you can borrow…"

Ian snorted, watching as River pulled out a bright orange pair of swimming trunks with big yellow flowers on them.

"I'm not going to wear your clothes, Hayden. I'll go blind."

Shawn grinned and pulled a pair of swimming trunks out of his own bag, turning to the boys.

"You guys better get changed."

For the most part they dove for their clothes, talking excitedly as they tried to figure out what they were going to be doing. Sammy, however, sat down on his bunk, watching Ian, who was studying the bruises on his chest and shoulders. There were several to choose from, and most of them were a deep purple. But they didn't really hurt as much as he expected. It didn't take him long to notice that Sammy wasn't getting ready, though, and Ian turned his attention to the boy.

"Let me guess… you have too many pairs of swimming trunks to choose from and can't decide which to wear…?"

Sammy shook his head, looking down at his hands.

"I don't feel good."

Ian frowned. He'd seemed fine earlier.

"Why not?"

"I just don't."

Too much running too early? Unlikely, since none of the other boys seemed to be suffering. Ian reached over and rested his hand lightly on Sammy's head.

"Stomach ache?"

Sammy shook his head.

"Then what?"

The little boy shrugged.

"I don't know."

By now, Ian had taken a pretty good look, and as far as he could tell there wasn't anything wrong with him, physically.

"You don't _look_ sick."

"I don't feel good. Maybe I should stay here…"

Ah. He remembered the lack of enthusiasm that Sammy had expressed each time water and the waterfront was mentioned, and it pretty much clicked.

Ian moved his hand.

"I don't think you're sick at all."

Sammy looked up at him, and then back down at his hands, and Ian saw a tear fall on the boy's leg.

"I am."

"What's up?"

Ian turned and saw River standing beside him, the Californian looking down at Sammy and then over at Ian.

"He's sick."

"What?"

"He says he doesn't feel well."

"Huh." River reached down and ran his hand along Sammy's forehead, obviously checking for a fever. And not surprisingly, he didn't find one. "He feels okay to me."

Another tear fell, and not even Ian was proof against that.

"He's sick, Hayden," Ian said, shrugging. "Probably his stomach – maybe he ate too much. We'd better not let him swim…"

Sammy looked up, surprised, and River noticed the little boy's eyes were bright with tears. Maybe he _was_ sick?

"Want me to take him to the nurse?"

Ian shook his head.

"You go with Adams and the others down to the water. I'll take him. I don't want to swim, anyways."

"Are you sure?"

River couldn't imagine anyone not wanting to swim. Of course, he couldn't figure out why Ian hated to _fly_, either, so it was hardly the first time the New Yorker threw him for a loop.

"I said I was," Ian told him. "You guys go ahead. We'll catch up."

"Okay." The boys were starting to gather around, now, already changed into their swimwear with towels draped over their shoulders. "We'll meet you down there."

"Yeah."

With several backwards glances – since the kids felt sorry for Sammy for getting sick right before swimming time – they left the cabin, reverting back to their cheerful yelling and excited chattering only after they had closed the door.

Sammy looked up at Ian, who hadn't moved. He was standing over the boy, his arms crossed over his bare chest.

"You don't have to stay…"

"You're _not_ sick."

The little boy hesitated, and then shook his head.

"I don't feel good."

"Because you don't want to swim…"

"My stomach hurts."

"Should I take you to the nurse and have her take out your appendix?"

This time the look Sammy shot Ian was afraid, and the cadet sighed.

"If you're afraid to swim just say so, Sammy."

"None of the others are."

"So?"

"They'll laugh at me."

"So?"

"So…"

Ian made an annoyed noise.

"Who gives a shit what they say?"

Sammy stared at him, and Ian realized his slip immediately.

"You didn't hear that."

"Yes, I did."

"Now I'll have to have the nurse chop off your ears, too."

Amazingly enough, his small attempt at humor actually made the boy smile. Obviously Sammy wasn't worried about having his ears chopped off.

"Get changed into swimming trunks, Sammy," Ian told him. "We'll go down to the water, and watch the others swim."

"But-"

"Don't worry. You don't have to."

"Promise?"

"Yup. But you do have to be there."

The little boy nodded, and reluctantly got off the bed he'd been sitting on, reaching for one of his many bags. Ian had promised to let him run with him if he woke up, and he had kept that promise. He'd keep this one, too, right?


	32. 32

Sammy wasn't in any hurry to get changed, so it took them a good twenty minutes to make it down to the waterfront. The two were only wearing shorts – although Sammy was also wearing slip on shoes that were designed for being worn in the water (which he had no intention of doing).

"I should just stay in the cabin…" Sammy sad, hesitantly, as they rounded the main building and were now in view of the waterfront.

"You'll be fine."

"Really… I should…"

It was pretty clear that the boy was starting to panic now that he was getting close to the water, and he was pale.

Ian shook his head.

"Just stay beside me. You won't have to do anything you don't want to."

Sammy moved a little closer to Ian, which wasn't exactly what the New Yorker had meant. He didn't push him away, though. If the kid was that afraid, then it wouldn't kill him to let him glue himself to his side.

River was standing on the right side dock when they reached the small beach that ran between both docks that portioned off the swimming area. The Californian was soaking wet, mute testimony that he'd been in the water very recently. Shawn and the boys were all still in the water; most of them playing with Shawn and each other – splashing and making a lot of noise. Chance was on the left side of the swimming area with one of the lifeguards – obviously getting a swimming lesson from what Ian could see.

"Hey, _Sammy_!" River called when he saw them approaching. "How do you feel?"

Sammy dropped back, hiding behind Ian, who walked out onto the dock, but stopped after only a few steps. River frowned, concerned by the boy's behavior.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ian said, turning and looking down at Sammy, gesturing for him to step up beside him. "What are you doing? Free swim?"

River was distracted by the question, and he grinned.

"We're just screwing around while Chance gets a swimming lesson." He pointed at one of the lifeguards, who had been standing on the far end of the dock – near what was the deep end of the water.

"Liam's ready to give _you_ a swimming lesson, too, Sammy."

The boy shook his head, stepping closer to Ian, who put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

River noticed immediately, of course. He was shallow, but not stupid – and he knew little kids a lot better than Ian did.

"Not ready for a lesson, huh?" He asked, sympathetically.

Sammy shook his head, again.

"I don't feel good."

Since he looked positively green, River and Ian both decided that he probably didn't. Although Ian knew – and River _suspected_ – that there wasn't actually anything wrong with him. Fear can make someone sick – they both knew it.

"Then you shouldn't swim," River assured him, putting his hand on the little boy's head with a smile. "You can watch _me_, instead."

River was always willing to put on a show, after all.

Relieved that he wasn't going to be forced into the water, Sammy nodded.

"Try not to hit your head," Ian said, sitting down on the edge of the dock and dangling his feet in the water. "I'd hate for one of the lifeguards to have to do mouth to mouth on you."

River grinned, watching as Sammy sat down tentatively next to Ian, so close that he was touching him.

"That one's pretty cute," the Californian said, under his breath, looking over at the only female lifeguard – who was watching Shawn and the splashing boys on the far dock. "I wouldn't mind if she-"

"Hayden."

Ian's annoyed interruption reminded River that Sammy probably shouldn't hear what River wanted the lifeguard to do – and River flushed just a little – although it wasn't noticeable under his dark tan.

"Well, you guys watch me," he told them, heading for the diving board that was on the very end of the dock – near the lifeguard River had said was named Liam. "I'll show you why everyone calls me squid."

"I thought everyone called you pee-wee?" Ian said, mocking his show off roommate.

River started to flip him off, remembered that they weren't alone, and ended the gesture without the single finger.

"Only the uninformed, Brooks."

Ian snorted, and smiled. Even Sammy smiled, although he wasn't sure exactly what the two of them were talking about. Which was just as well.

"Hey, River!" The boys who had been playing with Shawn noticed their counselor was heading for the diving board. They stopped splashing around immediately, and all of them turned to River – who grinned at them, raising his arms in a pose. Which might have been more impressive if his well-tanned and muscular chest and shoulders weren't spattered with bruises and a couple of scrapes.

"Do a flip!" Brian yelled.

"Do _two_!" Chad called.

The Californian nodded, and went to the end of the diving board. He bounced once, and then did a dive – and Ian had to admit that he was impressed. It was a double flip with a twist in it, and the entry was as good as anything Ian had seen from divers on TV – the few times he'd watched them, that was.

There were cheers from the boys – and even Sammy clapped his hands enthusiastically from his spot beside Ian.

River popped up a minute later, looking first at the boys, who cheered even louder, and then at the female lifeguard, who was smiling as well – obviously impressed as well. Then he swam over to Ian and Sammy, looking up at the two of them.

"See? _Squid_."

Sammy smiled, looking down at River, who was treading water near where his feet were in the water.

"I like Pee-wee better."

Ian snorted.

"Are we ready for our swimming lesson?"

All three of them looked up at the voice, and saw that Liam had walked over to stand beside where Sammy was sitting, looking down at them with a cheerful smile.

Ian could feel Sammy freeze beside him. He shook his head.

"Sammy's just going to watch for now. He's not feeling good."

Liam was an experienced lifeguard, who had dealt with little kids for many years – and had given swimming lessons to the most timid. He wasn't fooled for a moment, and knew that Ian wasn't fooled, either. Which meant that the counselor didn't want his boy to be in the water just then – and from the way the boy was acting, _he_ didn't want to be in the water any more than his counselor wanted him to be.

The lifeguard nodded.

"Okay, then. You can sit and watch. And if you change your mind, just let me know. Okay?"

Sammy nodded, relieved, and River pulled himself out of the water and onto the deck with a practiced ease.

"_I'll_ give you something to watch," the Californian promised with a grin. He headed back for the diving board, and Ian snorted again, looking down at his companion.

"Like we can see anything with the sun glaring off those shorts."

Sammy just grinned. He _liked_ River's shorts.


	33. 33

During the next hour River proved to all those on the docks and in the water that his parents had named him better than they ever could have imagined. Raised on the ocean, with parents who spent as much time surfing as they did on land, the Californian was at home in any kind of aquatic scenario, and he was in his element that morning. Not only because he was in the water but also because he was the center of attention – something he loved. Especially when the little girls from Japan joined the boys from Australia – and brought their counselors with them. Then the showing off really began.

He wowed them with dives from the diving board, and then from the dock, and when he joined the boys – including Chance, who could manage a fairly reliable dog paddle now – he showed them all just how much fun the water could be when you enjoyed it as much as he did. All except Sammy, of course. That little boy stayed on the dock, seated beside Ian who didn't show any desire to go into the water, either.

"Can't swim?"

Ian looked up from watching River and Shawn throwing the boys up into the air and watching them land with varying degrees of splashing and happy yelling and saw that Ann had come over to stand close by. He shrugged.

"I don't feel like swimming today."

"Ah." She looked at Sammy. "And _you're_ keeping him company so he doesn't get lonely?"

Sammy hesitated, but then nodded. He didn't like lying, but it wasn't really a lie; he _was_ keeping Ian company, right?

"Yes."

He looked over at Ian for reassurance, and the New Yorker gave him a rare smile.

"He's good company."

Sammy beamed. And Ann's smile broadened.

"Can I join you guys?"

Ian hesitated, but Sammy nodded immediately, drawn to Ann by her warm personality, and she gracefully sat down beside Sammy, sandwiching the boy between her and Ian but not hovering over him.

"Sammy, right?"

The boy nodded.

"Yes."

"I'm Ann, if you didn't know."

They had, after all, been spending their activities together – although Ann hadn't actually spent a lot of time talking to the boys. She had her girls to pay attention to, after all. Right now, though, those girls were being charmed by River – who definitely appeared to have a way with all females. Even the little girls who were attracted to his warm personality in a way that was far different from the way Sierra – and even Danin – were attracted to him.

Ann wasn't _completely_ immune to River's charms, either, but like she'd told Ian before; she had a boyfriend and was very happy with him. While it was fun to admire a good looking and physically fit guy, she wasn't in the market for a new boyfriend. Besides, River didn't interest her nearly as much as Ian did. She had a feeling that he was a lot more complex than he acted and the would-be psychologist in her was just itching to dig under his façade a bit and see what was really ticking there.

Sammy nodded.

"I know."

"Are you having fun?"

It was a good opener – and she had a feeling that small talk didn't work so well with Ian, so she'd make small talk with Sammy. Besides, she liked kids.

"Yeah."

The boy's face lit up, telling Ann that while he wasn't enjoying the swimming so much, he truly was enjoying the rest of the camping experience.

"What do you like the most, so far?"

"Ian."

This earned a smile from Ian, although he wasn't actually watching the two of them. His attention was on the boys who had been splashing the girls ruthlessly. River was in the process of tossing Brian over one shoulder and Shawn was joining in on the water fight – on the side of the little girls, since the boys were so obviously winning.

"Chance! Don't go so far out."

Ian didn't like the boy being in water over his head. The doggy paddle wasn't _that_ great, after all.

Chance waved at him, but the motion threw off his barely established rhythm of paddling, and he suddenly sank. Then came back to the surface sputtering because he'd taken water in his mouth and up his nose. Which immediately panicked him, and made him completely forget all about the lesson he'd just received.

The lifeguards were just as quick to see it as Ian. And they were very good at their jobs. Liam was already in the water, swimming rapidly to Chance, even as the rest of the kids realized what had happened. They all froze, watching in horror, as the first lifeguard reached the panicked boy, grabbing him and pulling him up onto the floatation tube that he'd had trailing behind him on a rope while he'd swum.

"Easy…"

Still gagging and sputtering, Chance clung to the tube, and then to River – who had immediately swum over to him as well. The Californian easily managed to tread water and hold Chance, and between him and Liam they got Chance to the closest dock – where Ian, Sammy and Ann were on their feet.

Ian reached down, taking the terrified boy from River and hauling him easily out of the water, floatation device and all. Now Chance was clinging to him, and Ian held him close as the boy coughed and trembled.

"Easy, big guy," he said softly, running a hand along the back of the boy's head and then his back. "I've got you."

As he held him, he closed his eyes for just a second, checking Chance from the inside out and clearing the rest of the water out of his lungs simply by absorbing it into the boy's system. It only took a few moments – he was getting pretty good at snooping around inside people – but it also took something out of him and he was glad to hand Chance over to the woman lifeguard when she reached them.

"Here, sweetheart," she crooned, holding him tightly. He'd stopped coughing, but he now he was crying, and she was cuddling him as she listened to his breathing to make sure his lungs weren't filled with water. Of course, he hadn't actually gone under – much – and he wasn't coughing and seemed to be done coughing, so she was pretty sure he was going to be okay. He'd just taken a fright, that was all. "We'll take you to the nurse, and have her make sure you're okay…"

She looked at the others, who had all gathered around, and gave them a reassuring smile.

"He'll be okay, guys. Don't worry."

She left, still holding Chance in her arms, and Ian was suddenly aware that Sammy was clinging tightly to him. The boy's face was pale and his eyes were wide with terror.

"It's okay, Sammy."

But it was obvious that Sammy didn't think it was okay at all. He burst into tears – and so did several of the others; boys _and_ girls.


	34. 34

"Hey… it's okay…"

Ian sighed and sat down on the dock beside where Sammy was standing, close to where he'd been sitting before. Sammy wrapped his arms around his neck, holding him tight, and it was pretty much self-defense that caused Ian to drag the boy down and put him in his lap, where he wouldn't be able to choke him. He looked to Ann for help, but the young woman was busy soothing her own campers – as were all the others – and Ian was on his own.

"Sammy, stop. Chance is fine."

"He could have drowned."

The words were stuttered and tear-sodden, but Ian could understand them well enough. He shook his head.

"He wasn't. That's what the lifeguards are for – and they pulled him out in plenty of time."

"But he-"

"He just panicked, that's all. He was doing fine before that."

Sammy shook his head, too, and Ian was beginning to wonder just how much snot the kid had in him, because it was smeared at least an inch thick across his chest where Sammy was sniveling, and was dribbling down his belly. But all he was doing now was sobbing, and that was better than the crying. Probably. But he wasn't going to be a human teddy bear any longer than necessary, and that meant getting the boy calmed down.

"Sammy, relax big guy. Chance is fine, and so are you, and swimming isn't so bad, really."

He might as well have saved his breath. Sammy didn't want reassurance. He wanted to be comforted, and that meant he was going to cling to Ian. And so he did. The other boys were calmed and back to their water fight – although most of them avoided going to the deeper water at first – and even the girls were soothed and back to playing – although they were even more timid than the boys when it came to the deeper water. And still Sammy clung to Ian, although his crying had stopped, now, and his breathing had leveled out again so he wasn't hiccupping every ten seconds as he tried to catch his breath.

Ann came over and sat down beside the two, reaching out and resting her hand lightly on Sammy's back, although she was looking at Ian.

"How is he?"

Ian rolled his eyes, making her smile. Yeah, he was _holding_ Sammy, but he didn't want to be, she could tell. As far as she was concerned, though, the important thing was that he was doing it.

"He'll be okay," Ian said. "He's a tough guy."

Sammy didn't look like a tough guy just then, but he did turn to look at Ann, his tear-stained cheek resting against the bear claw scars on Ian's chest. Ann smiled at him, pushing his hair off his forehead.

"You-"

"_Hey_!"

A cry of excitement drew their attention to the rest of the campers, and they saw Chance come running down the small beach, the irrepressible smile plastered on his cheerful face once more. Behind him, trotting at a far slower pace was the lifeguard who had taken him to the nurse less than a half hour before.

The kids headed for the water's edge to meet him, yelling excitedly, but Chance didn't even hesitate as he ran back into the water to meet up with his cabin mates and counselors, and even when he stumbled and fell face forward, submerging himself completely, he simply righted himself and caught River's rough hug as the Californian swung him up into his strong arms, just as glad to see him as Chance was to be there.

Sammy was frozen in Ian's grasp, his eyes wide as he watched River drop Chance back into the water so the boy could talk to his excited friends – and the girls, who hung back a little, but were just as eager to see him.

Ian looked down at him. With the boy pressed so tightly against him there was no way he could miss the tenseness in his little body.

"You want to go say hi?" he asked.

Sammy shook his head, and put his cheek back against Ian's chest, although his eyes were still on Chance and the others.

Ian sighed.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Aren't you supposed to be _sitting down_ somewhere?"

Sam sighed, and counted to ten. Slowly.

"I'm not going to fall apart, Jack. I can walk."

"But Doctor Fraiser said you weren't supposed to be on your feet."

"_Too much_," Sam said, still annoyed. "She said I wasn't supposed to be on my feet too much. That doesn't mean you're supposed to walk around behind me, waiting to pounce the minute I stand up."

"Your knee-"

"Isn't _broken_."

She was visibly annoyed, and not even trying to hide it. Jack – and his big black shadow Jaffer – had been driving her crazy the past day. _Day_! It felt like at least a week, the way Jack was acting. While she loved him more than life itself, she was about ready to strangle him – and if he tried to get her to rest once more, she was pretty sure she was going to scream.

"You shouldn't be on it," Jack said, stubbornly, coming up beside her when she started to limp off. It wasn't easy to move with the big brace she was wearing and the single crutch she was using, but it was better to be on her feet than allow him to have his way. If she did that, then _he'd_ have her spending the next three days on her butt in her lab – or worse, in bed at home with the leg propped up.

"I'm _fine_."

Distracted as she was, Sam didn't see the Airman heading down the intersecting corridor. More importantly, he had his nose in the review he was supposed to be giving one of the others, and _he_ didn't see _her_, either. Before Jack could catch her or yell a warning to the Airman, the two had crashed into each other, and Sam and the young man went down in a tangled heap with equally surprised yelps.

"Hey!" Jack and the Airman both scrambled for Sam, the younger man stammering an immediate apology and Jack practically jerking him off Sam, who was holding her right arm, wincing with pain. "Are you all right?"

"I got my hand tangled in the crutch handle…" she told him, feeling stupid and frustrated at the same time. This was all _his_ fault, after all, but it was only going to make him think he'd been right. "I landed on it wrong."

Brown eyes dark with worry, Jack picked her up into his arms.

"Let's get you to Fraiser."

"I can walk."

"You're hurt."

Sam sighed again, and closed her eyes, wishing she'd just stayed in bed that morning. This was so unfair.


	35. 35

As far as free time was concerned, Ian had already decided that it was erroneously named. When he'd first seen it on the schedule, he'd assumed – incorrectly as it turned out – that it was time that the counselors would be able to spend away from their charges. Hence the name _free time_. Instead, it was just a period of unstructured time, where the kids could do whatever activity they chose to do, be it swimming, playing games in the field, playing in the gym or one of the other many activities that the camp had available to the campers.

Unfortunately, the counselors were expected to join their kid in these activities.

When the swim time for Romania and Australia was officially over and they were told it was free time until lunch, Ian was still holding Sammy, who was simply watching the other kids swim while loosely holding onto Ian. Ann was still sitting beside him, too, seemingly in no hurry to swim again – although she was chatting merrily with her girls when they'd swim up to talk to her. They tried several times to get him involved in the conversation, but Ian wasn't in the mood for small talk – when was he ever in the mood for it? (Although he had to admit that he much preferred little girls trying to talk to him than older girls – say anyone over the age of 16 – because these girls weren't ogling him like a piece of meat, they just wanted to talk). The little girls didn't mind his lack of conversation. They were more than willing to chat with their counselor and allow Ian to just listen in. When Ann wasn't talking to them, she was talking to Sammy, who was more than willing to talk – as long as it didn't mean leaving Ian's grasp.

Which was annoying, because Ian had long since started getting sunburned. It wasn't like he spent all that much time out in the sun to get tanned in the first place, but now he was sitting on a dock, surrounded by water which was reflecting the sun up at him from every direction. The little boy sitting in his lap protected his belly and chest from the sun – probably the caked on dried snot would have done the same job – but his back was killing him already, and he knew it was just going to feel worse, later.

When they announced the free time, Ian finally decided he'd had enough. He nudged Sammy, who looked up at him.

"I'm going to take a quick swim."

That got his attention quick enough, and Ian wished he'd have said it an hour ago. Sammy slid off his lap, coming to sit between Ian and Ann, and the cadet slid off the dock and into the water. He didn't really care whether he swam or not, but the water felt good on his back and he needed a good way to wash the snot off his chest. Immediately the other boys splashed over to him, and started asking him to throw them into the air so they could splash. This was better than the diving board – which was scary for most of them.

Ian sighed, but caught the amused gleam in River's expression.

"You're too weak to toss a couple of kids?" Hayden challenged.

He'd be too tempted to toss them too far was more like it, but Ian didn't say that. Instead he rubbed his nose – with one finger – and the Californian chuckled, even though the kids had missed it entirely.

"Come here, Chance," Ian said.

The camper paddled over to him, grinning excitedly. He could actually touch here, barely, but he was getting good at paddling and was getting all the practice in he could get before trying the deeper water again. Ian made a stirrup out of his hands, and showed them to the boy before putting his hands underwater, and Chance immediately put one foot in his hands, one of his hands coming down on Ian's shoulder to steady himself.

"Not too far," River cautioned him.

"Relax, Hayden." He wasn't stupid, after all. He'd fling all the kids that wanted it, and then haul his ass back up to the cabin where he could get a shirt on. Stupid fucking sun.

Ian brought his hands out of the water in a powerful motion, flinging Chance over his back about three feet in the air and a good ten feet away. The boy squealed in delight, landed with a huge splash, and immediately paddled back to go again.

"Me!" Chad yelled.

"Me, too!" Yelled Wilson.

"Me, three!"

"Me fo-"

"I get it," Ian said, dryly, cutting them off.

Ann smiled, amused at the trap he'd made for himself, and Ian was tempted to flip her off, too. But he didn't. His hands were suddenly filled with kids – even some of the girls – and he spent the next half an hour with River and Shawn in the lake, tossing kids over his shoulder – much to their delight.

Then the water suddenly filled even more when the other campers who had been off doing other activities came down to the water for a swim before lunch. Ian took advantage of the influx of counselors to make his escape, telling River that he was heading up to the cabin.

"Put something on your back, too," River said, getting a look at Ian's sunburn for the first time. "You're beet red."

Like he didn't know it? Instead of saying anything, Ian trudged out of the water, dodging screaming kids and being splashed half a dozen times as he became the victim of crossfire from several different water fights. But he did manage to shake Sammy, who was being distracted by Shawn just then.

He made it as far as the parking lot, where he stopped at his car to get some lotion out of his trunk (it wasn't his but Cassie wouldn't mind if he borrowed it, he knew) when he heard someone calling him.

"Hey, Ian!"

He looked over and saw Hank coming over.

"Well, shit…"

This was simply mumbled under his breath, but the guarded look in his expression when the other guy approached plainly told Hank that he didn't really want company. Hank wasn't offended, though.

"Hey… I just wanted to apologize for earlier."

"What?"

"I wasn't very nice, and I shouldn't have called you a jerk. Sorry about that. It was early, and I slept like shit on the little bed – and the kids wouldn't go to sleep no matter how many stories I told them, and I pretty much took it out on you. I'm sorry about that."

Ian couldn't have been more surprised if the guy had asked him to the prom. Disgusted, yes, surprised, no. He was so surprised he actually accepted the apology gracefully instead of telling the guy to go fuck himself like he might normally.

"It's okay," Ian said, shrugging. "I didn't sleep very well, either."

Which wasn't to say that was the reason he hadn't wanted to chat.

Hank smiled, glad the apology had been accepted. Then he looked at the car.

"Is this yours?"

"Yeah."

"It's sweet."

And wasn't that the best way to get on Ian's good side? Ian thought it was a pretty sweet car, too, and he was proud of it.

"A friend of mine gave it to me for my birthday."

"No shit?"

"Yeah."

"I'm hanging out with the wrong people…" Hank said, moving so he could look into the interior. "All I get are cards – and sometimes a cake."

Ian actually smiled at that.


	36. 36

A couple of Hank's boys saved Ian from any further conversation. They came running up to the edge of the lot – since campers weren't supposed to be on the gravel part of the parking lot – and yelled for him to come join them.

"I gotta go," Hank said, looking over at them. "Kids wait for no man…"

Ian nodded, shutting the trunk of the convertible.

"I've noticed that."

It wasn't like there was a lot more free time left, really. There was only about an hour before lunch, and the lifeguards and other staff would start sending campers back to clean up for the meal about fifteen minutes before it was scheduled.

"You should get something on that sunburn."

Ian grunted something noncommittal, and headed for Australia's cabin without responding to that, and Hank headed for the water with his impatient boys.

OOOOOOOO

Lunch was another fairly simple meal. The camp cooks knew that they didn't have to work all that hard to please kids this age, as long as there was plenty to eat, and an assortment of sandwiches; peanut butter and jelly, or tuna, or egg salad, with chips, carrot sticks and brownies for dessert was all that it took to satisfy a cafeteria filled with hungry youngsters.

"How's the sunburn?" River asked cheerfully, his own bruises purpling nicely, but forgotten after such a fine morning of playing in the water – which was so much nicer than riding horses as far as he was concerned.

"It hurts like a motherfu-"

"You got _sunburned_?" Chance asked, interrupting Ian – which was just as well, since he'd been so miserable that he'd almost taught them all a new word – at least he _hoped_ it would have been a new word.

"Yeah."

"Can I see?"

"Me, too!"

"Me, three!"

"Me-"

"Not right now, guys," Shawn said, interrupting them with a grin. He couldn't remember _ever_ being that young.

"Later?"

"Maybe."

"When?"

"Just _later_," Ian said, scowling. His back was killing him. He hadn't been able to put anything on it since he couldn't reach it. He sure as hell wasn't going to ask someone to do it for him, and his shirt was rubbing against it, chafing it every time he moved. When lunch was over he was going to go back to the cabin and soak his shirt in cold water before putting it back on, hoping that the cool water would at least help with the burning.

"_My_ mom made me bring suntan lotion," Bruce said. "Yours should have made you bring some, too."

Ian couldn't agree more. Of course, he'd never expected to spend an hour and a half holding some kid while he sat in the fucking sun, either.

Gary Hines went to the front of the room just then, saving Ian from actually making a reply, and as was the norm now, the room quieted immediately when the kids noticed that he was there.

"Good afternoon, Campers!"

Ian wondered how the guy could possible be so cheerful all the time. Of course, all he did was tell the kids what they were doing. He didn't have to do it. That might be the difference.

The kids screamed a greeting to Hines, each trying to outdoor his or her neighbor and make themselves heard, and Gary grinned at their efforts and allowed them to yell for a good thirty seconds before he raised his hand for silence.

"This afternoon we're going to be getting the ball field ready for the campout tonight, so instead of playing the field games that we had originally planned on playing, we're going to be down at the waterfront doing camp games there."

There were more shouts of excitement, both because of the upcoming campout – which was the first time many of them had ever done such a thing – and because they were going to be down at the water, which was a favorite of most of the kids. Predictably, Sammy wasn't joining in on the excited yells, and Ian didn't expect him to.

Gary let the murmuring continue for a minute or two, and then spoke again, looking down at the schedule in his hand.

"Once the bell rings, I want you all to be down at the water front, ready to get wet. Okay?"

There were shouts of agreement, and Gary smiled.

"Okay, finish eating."

There was a lot of chatter at the individual tables, now, and the noise level in the cafeteria was a lot louder than it had been before Gary made his announcement.

"I hope we're swimming again!" Chance said, excitedly, reaching for a brownie when Brian and River brought them over from the serving window.

"Me, too!"

"Me, three!"

"M-"

"We can't swim right after eating," Wilson said, interrupting. "We'll get cramped."

"_Cramps_," River corrected with a grin, leaning back in his chair and munching on his brownie. "He's right, though. They won't have us swimming after eating such a big meal."

Sammy, who was looking rather ill at the whole idea of spending more time at the water, looked over at him, hopefully.

"Really?"

River nodded. He wasn't so certain that they wouldn't be in the water _eventually_, but he _was_ certain that they wouldn't have all their kids in the water. He knew how many kids a single lifeguard could watch safely and there weren't enough of them at the waterfront to allow all the kids in the camp to be in the water at once. And since he and the others were well aware that something was keeping Sammy from wanting to be in the water, they'd make sure that he didn't _have_ to be in the water. He knew Shawn would agree, and was pretty certain Ian would as well – especially since Ian had been forced to play the part of human security blanket that morning.

"Yup."

The little boy looked a lot better after that, and he even managed to eat his brownie – although any one of the other boys would have been more than willing to eat it for him.

When everyone had finished dessert and the dishes were as neatly stacked as a group of six-year-olds could get them, River shooed them all away from the table, telling them to go get ready for the water activities. Screaming and yelling, they did just that, racing each other to the door.


	37. 37

_Author's Note: In answer to a couple of questions brought up in reviews: Ian can't heal himself, just others. Also, this story really isn't intended to have much of a plot. I just let the people in the forum vote on what they wanted me to write, and this was what overwhelmingly won, so I'm writing it. (I don't even know if that many people are reading it). And I am going to try and keep this from going a hundred chapters, but you never know!_

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Ian…?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't really feel like going back down to the water just now."

Ian looked down at Sammy, who was sitting on his bunk. The boy was a little redder than he'd been that morning – but since Ian was a _lot_ redder, he could relate to that. He looked a little ill, again, but really it was more fear than anything in his expression, and Ian frowned. When _he'd_ been six he hadn't been afraid of anything. It made him wonder what had happened to Sammy to make him so afraid of the water.

"You don't have to get into the water."

"What if they make me?"

"They can't. I've already said you don't have to, and I won't let them make you."

"But-"

"Who's your counselor?"

"You guys."

"That's right. You're supposed to listen to us, right? That's what your mom told you when she left you here."

"Yeah."

"Then get your towel and trust me."

Still rather reluctant, the little boy nonetheless reached out and grabbed one of his many towels, and then stood up and headed over to where the other boys were gathered.

Shawn, who had been listening in on the conversation – even though he hadn't actually intended to – walked over.

"What if they make him swim?"

Ian shook his head.

"They don't have any say in the matter. I'm his counselor, not them." He scowled at the grin on Shawn's face, then. "Don't make anything more out of this than there is, Adams. I'm just not going to make him swim, that's all."

"I think you're beginning to _like_ him…"

"Do you want me to suggest to the cook that you do the dishes the rest of the week?"

"No."

"Then shut up."

Ian walked away grumbling to himself, and Shawn followed, still grinning.

OOOOOOOOO

As it turned out, there was no need for a battle of wills between Ian and the camp staff. The games that they played that afternoon involved a lot of water, but no swimming at all. Divided into cabin teams, the kids – and their counselors – started off with relay races. The first relay race was simple – which was a necessity when dealing with large numbers of small children – and all each team had to do was fill a bucket of water. The catch was that all they were given was a small cup. The first person in the line for each team would rush down to the water's edge – but was absolutely forbidden to actually get into the water – and fill their cup. Then, moving as quickly – but as carefully – as they could, they'd run back to their team's bucket, where they'd dump their cup of water into the bucket and hand the cup off to the next person in line before going to the back of the line. It was simple and pointless, but the kids loved it – and raced as hard as they could.

Proving that it didn't take age to win a relay such as that, Australia actually came in first in that relay. If Ian was a little withdrawn – because now he was sweating and his sunburn was killing him – it wasn't even noticed, because River's enthusiasm more than made up for it. The Californian was high-fiving everyone (not just those on his team) and rooting his boys on like some kind of caffeine-crazed soccer mom. The boys, of course, loved it – and responded to his eagerness with a doubling of their own.

"Are you okay?"

Ian looked over and saw the nurse standing beside him. She'd been down at the waterfront watching the activities – and watching her injured counselors to make sure they weren't having any complications from their earlier injuries. River obviously wasn't, but Ian had an intense look in his expression. One that she associated with someone who was hurting, but trying to hide or ignore it.

"Yeah. Fine."

He wondered what it was about doctors that made them so good at knowing when someone was hurting – because he _was_, although he'd never admit it.

"Ian has a sunburn," Sammy said, helpfully, from right beside his counselor.

"Ah."

And that probably explained it, she decided.

"It's not that bad," Ian said. "Just a little red."

"Can I see it?"

She didn't really even wait for an answer; she just lifted up the back of his shirt. Ian scowled, but short of ripping himself out of her grasp – and looking like an idiot trying to do it – there wasn't much he could do about it. Instead he was forced to stand still while she lifted his shirt higher, apparently trying to see his shoulders.

"Ouch. That's a doozy."

Well, duh. He didn't need a nurse to tell him that.

"Its okay."

"Did you put anything on it?"

"I tried to."

"But you couldn't reach?"

"Yeah."

"Come on. We'll go get something on it before it starts to blister."

"I need to stick around here," Ian told her, pulling his shirt back down.

"It'll only take a minute," she told him, deciding that he was loath to leave his campers. What a good counselor! "River and Shawn can take care of the kids for a while without you."

River, on the other hand, knew exactly why Ian was hesitating, and he gestured for the New Yorker to go.

"Go on, Ian. I'll keep an eye on things." Which in this case meant Sammy.

With so many people urging him to leave – not to mention that he really wanted to leave – Ian shrugged.

"Fine."

If he got lucky, he might even miss a couple of games, eh?


	38. 38

"So _these_ must be the infamous bear attack scars," Mandy said, looking at Ian's chest once he got his t-shirt off.

"Yeah."

They were a perfect set of four parallel scars about four inches long going right across his chest, and she had to admit, it was kind of impressive – and she'd seen a _lot_ of cuts and injuries in her time.

"How did you get away?"

"A friend scared her off with a gunshot."

"Lucky you."

"Yeah."

Wasn't she supposed to be putting lotion on his back or something?

"And these?" The nurse asked, pointing to the twin scars in Ian's abdomen. They weren't hard to miss; they just weren't as noticeable as the claw marks. "From the bear, too?"

Ian shook his head, giving a purely mental sigh.

"Gunshot wounds."

"_Really_?"

"Yeah."

"You were _shot_?"

"Yeah."

"At the Air Force Academy?"

"No."

At the _Air Force Academy_ he'd been attacked by invisible alien assassins, and had been kidnapped by a group of men sent there by the Vice President of the United States – but he obviously couldn't say that. Not that he wanted to, anyways.

Mandy could tell he really didn't want to talk about it, and she could understand. Maybe it had been some kind of childhood accident – although obviously he didn't do it to himself. She was doctor enough to figure _that_ out just from the scars.

"Well, let's get something on your back, shall we?" She had a ready supply of aloe for just such an occasion, and a moment later she was slathering it liberally all over the burn on his back and shoulders, her hands gentle like only a medic could be. And she smiled when she felt, rather than heard, his sigh of relief as the sting started to fade.

"Better?"

"Yeah, thanks."

She finished, and wiped her hands.

"You're going to want to keep a shirt on for the next couple of day," she told him, coming around and standing in front of the stool he was sitting on. "And we'll need to lotion it at least a couple of times a day." She smiled. "You can either come to me, or have one of your fellow counselors do it for you. I'm sure one of the girls would be more than willing t-"

"I'll let you do it."

He hadn't missed that _she_ was wearing a wedding ring as well.

Mandy chuckled.

"Just come here after meals, okay? We'll take care of it then." And it would give her a chance to check on his other injuries as well. With his shirt off, she'd had a chance to see just how many bruises he'd already managed to accumulate – and it was only the second full day of camp! "Any other problems?"

He shook his head, and pulled on his t-shirt.

"Nah. Just the sunburn."

"Well, you know where to find me if you need me."

He nodded and stood up, anxious to make an escape, even if it meant going back to the waterfront and playing more stupid games.

"Thanks."

OOOOOOOO

"It's just broken, Jack, it's not going to fall off."

"I know."

"Then stop hovering over me."

"I'm not hovering."

"Yes, you are, and you're driving me nuts. Why don't you go back to your office and get that mound of paperwork done?"

Jack affected an injured look, although his brown eyes gave away the fact that his feelings were far from hurt; he was just worried about her.

"You don't want my company?"

Sam wasn't falling for it. She'd known him far too long – and far too well.

"No."

"I'm crushed."

She rolled her eyes, trying to reposition her leg on the small footstool he'd padded with a pillow and brought over for her to prop her injured leg on. It was hard to do with the brand new cast that was gracing her newly broken wrist – courtesy of her fall earlier that day. But she waved his help away, irritably.

"Go. Before I decide to make you sleep on the sofa tonight."

"You're sure you're okay?"

"Yes." As she'd already said a million times. "I'm just going to work on some formulas and eq-"

"Eh." He held up his hand. He didn't care what she was working on – as long as she wasn't intending to get up and try and go anywhere. And she wouldn't need to take care of Jake, because Jack was going to take their son back to his office with him so she wouldn't have to try and juggle the baby, her work, and her injured leg and hand. "I'll be in my office if you need me."

Sam nodded.

"Okay."

"But call. Don't come to-"

"I will."

She'd make sure she didn't need him.

He leaned over and kissed her, which brought a smile to her face – despite how annoyed she was.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

He turned and headed out the door, but was stopped almost immediately.

"Jack?"

He turned.

"Hmmm?"

"Aren't you forgetting someone?"

She looked pointedly at the black lab that was stretched out on the floor beside her chair, his head close to the injured knee. Jaffer looked over, as if aware they were discussing him, and wagged his tail cheerfully.

Jack shook his head.

"Nope."

And he turned and left.

Sam scowled, looking down at the lab, as if waiting for him to realize he was being left behind. Jaffer didn't budge.

"I'm _not_ helpless, you know…"

His tail thumped lightly against the floor.

He knew. He just didn't care.

She sighed and returned to what she'd been doing. At least Jaffer wasn't looking over her shoulder – and that was a slight improvement. She supposed.


	39. 39

When Ian returned to the waterfront, he found the entire camp engaged in yet another relay race. This one was apparently designed to get the kids as wet as possible without actually dunking them into the lake, because those who hadn't already been drenched from the last games, were now soaked. And as he stopped and leaned against a tree to watch what they were doing, Ian saw that there was a good reason for that.

Each team was in a line facing the lake, but about fifty feet from the actual water's edge. The first person in the line had what looked like a one-gallon bucket. That person would run to the water, and fill the bucket, then return to the team and turn around so he (or she, in the case of the girls' cabins) would be facing the same direction that the others were. He then handed the bucket back to the person behind him in line – but had to hand it over his head. The next person would hand it back to the person behind him – but had to put it between his legs, like hiking a football, then the person behind him would go over the head once more and so on until they reached the last person in line. This person ran to a rain barrel and dumped the contents of the water into the barrel. Assuming there was anything left in the bucket by then, because as Ian watched there was a lot of times when someone would mess up or miss the bucket, and it would end up tipped over someone's head, soaking that individual. Much to the enjoyment of all those around.

Ian couldn't help the smile on his face as he watched the boys in his cabin giggling and laughing with Shawn and River – who were both far less drenched than the kids were, mainly because it was a lot harder to dump a bucket of water on someone who was towering over you. It didn't save them completely, of course; water still splashed everywhere, and one time as he was running to the waterfront, Shawn slipped when he tried to stop and ended up face first in the shallow water. The kids howled with laughter, and Ian snickered. So graceful.

He could have joined them during that relay race – which took almost a half an hour for them to finish – but Ian didn't want to get wet, and he didn't want to disrupt the game, so he waited until a winner was declared (Peru) and then walked over to join his sodden cabin mates.

"Ian!"

They rushed him enthusiastically, all of them clamoring for his attention and eager to see how he was doing, and Ian was hard-pressed to keep them at arm's length so they wouldn't get him just as wet as he was.

"Easy guys," he told them, as Chance broke through and threw his arms around his waist, pressing his cold little wet body against him and soaking that side of him. "I'm fine."

"How's your back?" River asked, coming over to help him get the kids settled, and well aware that Gary was holding off starting the next game until Australia was ready to participate once more.

The other campers were all watching this as well – not just Australia – and Ian shrugged, hating being the center of attention like this.

"It's fine."

"Good."

"Ready to play?" Gary asked, smiling as he walked over.

Ian would have rather just watched, but he couldn't really get away with that; the only way he could sit out was if he said he didn't feel well, and that would just get the boys upset and Ian was already learning that he didn't like it when the boys were upset. It took them too long to settle down once they were in an uproar. Better to go along and avoid that situation whenever he could.

He wasn't a genius for nothing, right?

"Sure."

Ian moved a little closer to the boys, who were torn between watching Ian and waiting to hear what Gary was going to say next, but when Ian turned his attention to the camp director, they did too.

Gary waved at a few of the camp staff members, and they and two of the lifeguards went over to the equipment shack (this was a building that held all the supplies needed for canoeing and sailing – including lifejackets and oars – as well as having fishing equipment, water toys and pretty much anything you could think of that a camp filled with active children might need for playing in the water.

Apparently, that included several five-gallon buckets filled with water balloons, as well.

There was excited murmurings as these were brought out; the kids all knew what to do with water balloons, after all, but Gary grinned and held up his hands for silence.

"All right, you guys…" he waited until he was certain that all the cabin groups were watching him and were quiet – which didn't take long – and then continued. "This next game is going to be fun. I want you to get into your lines in your teams again, and then the first person in line is going to run over to the bucket in front of their team…" he pointed to where the staff and lifeguards were setting up. One bucket per team, with enough space in between each team to make sure there was maneuvering room.

"Then, you sit down on your water balloon, and pop it – and you _have_ to pop it with your butt, not with any other part of your body – and run back to the team and slap the hand of the next person in line, who will run down and pop their balloon and so on… understand?"

There were a lot of smiles and excited chatter among the kids. This was going to be _fun_! The counselors groaned at the thought of being forced to flop their own butts down on the ground – after all, they weren't quite as flexible as their charges, and most of them were a lot higher off the ground to begin with.

"Line up!" Gary called, and immediately the kids pushed and shoved their way into lines, each eager to be in the front so they could be first to pop their water balloon. The counselors were just as quick to keep them from getting too out of line with the pushing, and the kids eventually got into some semblance of order.

"_Go_!"

Wilson, who had ended up in the front of their line, took off at a run, reaching the bucket only a few feet behind the campers from the other lines. The lifeguard who was standing there waiting pulled a water balloon out of the bucket, setting it on the ground for him. The little boy plopped down on it, breaking it immediately and soaking the seat of his shorts. He grinned, scrambled to his feet and ran back to the line, slapping Chad's hand and heading for the back of the line, where Ian was waiting.

"That was great!"

Ian just shook his head. It was going to be a long afternoon.

OOOOOOOO

It was, too. There was one relay race after another, and all of them involved water. Even though Ian and the boys didn't go _in_ the water, by the time Gary Hines excused all the campers to go up and get changed before dinner, they were all completely drenched.

"Don't forget! We're camping up in the field tonight," Gary said gesturing for the counselors to hang back as their kids went rushing up the hill towards the cabins. "You're going to want to make sure your kids change into something warm."

"We're not having a campfire up there, are we?" Hank asked, curiously.

"We _are_, but we won't actually have a fire," Gary said. "It'll be lanterns and stuff – with games and singing… You'll see when you get up there after dinner."

The counselors headed up the hill, too, and this time Hank walked beside Ian and Shawn. River was walking with Sierra, flirting outrageously with her and holding her hand to help her up the hill – help that she didn't need, but was more than happy to accept. Danin and Ann joined the little group.

"I was _hoping_ to get a rest from singing," Hank grumbled, after looking around to make sure there weren't any kids lurking around.

Ian looked over at him, surprised that he wasn't the only one who hadn't enjoyed it.

"Aww, I _liked_ the singing," Ann said.

"Me, too," Danin agreed.

"But it's almost as much fun to watch you guys every time they started a new song," Ann said, looking at Ian and Hank both.

"What do you mean?" Hank asked.

"You get this pained look in your expression…" Ann said.

"Like you're being _tortured_," Danin added, nudging Ian, who had been giving the same looks during the last campfire. "Singing's fun!"

"If they didn't repeat the song a hundred times," Shawn said, shaking his head. He didn't mind singing at campfire – he'd been doing it since he was little, after all. But man, he hated repeating the songs over and over.

"They just did that so the kids could learn the words," Ann assured him. "It won't be so bad tonight."

"You think so?" Hank asked, hopefully.

She nodded.

"I _asked_."

"I hope so," Ian said, speaking up for the first time. He was already wet and miserable. Later that night, he'd be dry and miserable, and the last thing he wanted to add on to it was singing.

"We'll try to convince Gary that we need more stories and less singing," Hank said. "That might work."

"Maybe."

Ann didn't look all that convinced, but Ian was willing to grab for any straw he could.


	40. 40

_Author's note: Hmmm... this might hit 100, after all..._

OOOOOOOOOO

"Sweatshirts and jackets, guys," River said cheerfully as he reached for a sweatshirt of his own to be an example to them. Luckily, the Air Force Academy didn't make brightly colored sweatshirts – or other articles of clothing – so they weren't going to have to worry about being blinded that evening on their way to dinner. River was wearing jeans and a white sweatshirt with a simple academy logo on it – mundane colors for the Californian. So normal, in fact, that Ian was wearing the exact same thing – although his sweatshirt was navy blue. Shawn had opted for shorts – to show off the fact that he was actually getting a tan on legs that had been hidden under uniforms all school year – and was wearing a light jacket.

"I'll go get a table," Ian said, more than willing to beat the rush of kids and counselors to the cafeteria.

River and Shawn both nodded, and started double-checking the kids to make sure they had warm clothing on – although there would be a little time after dinner to go change. They'd already learned, though, that it took far more than just a little time for seven six-year-olds to get ready for anything, and were preparing in advance.

Since the counselors that were saving the tables almost always ended up heading down the hill at the same time, it hardly surprised Ian that he ended up walking with a few of them. Cody was one of the counselors that was with Hank in his cabin, but Ian hadn't had much contact with him, and Kelly, who had been the older female counselor who Ian had used as a meat shield the first night of camp were both walking by when he stepped out of the cabin, and he pretty much had no choice but to walk with them. Danin trotted up to catch up with them only a moment later, and she took the position on the outside, sandwiching him between her and Kelly, which was okay.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Ian?" Kelly asked, glancing over at him.

"Yes."

At the moment he was, anyways. Of course, he wasn't surrounded by screaming kids, either.

"Good."

"We're going to try and convince Gary that we need to do less singing and more storytelling or something," Cody said, proving that he'd spoken to Hank recently.

"Why's that?"

"Because we hate singing."

Kelly laughed.

"Good luck. Gary loves to sing at campfire."

"But this isn't _campfire_," Cody said, looking to Ian for help. "This is campout night – and we won't have a fire. It'll be perfect for storytelling."

"We can save the singing for another time," Ian agreed. Like a time when he was _home_. Or for that matter, when he was offworld.

"Good luck," Kelly repeated, shaking her head and smiling. She didn't sound like she had too much faith in their plan. Ian was just grateful to hear that another one of the counselors was willing to forgo singing – although he did notice that it was all the guys who seemed to not enjoy the singing and the women who didn't. It was probably a genetic thing or something.

OOOOOOOOO

Dinner was rushed. It took no less time than they normally did, of course, but the kids – at least the ones at Australia's table – wolfed down their chicken, potatoes and corn as fast as they could, as if they thought that the faster they ate the sooner they would all be excused to get up to the field. The boys were so excited about the upcoming campout that Ian thought they were going to pop, and he couldn't help but be amused by them. Especially when they tried to rush their counselors, who weren't eating fast enough for their liking. Even dessert – which was chocolate cake – was gobbled quickly; more because of them being in a hurry than because of the normal greed of a six year-old.

Finally, when the tension in the room – because Australia _wasn't_ the only table that was excited – seemed about to become unbearable, Gary finally stood up from his position at the staff table and walked to the front of the room. It was immediately quiet.

"Everyone get enough to eat?"

The kids responded loudly, practically wriggling in their chairs, but Ian was pretty sure _his_ guys hadn't even tasted their dinners. Gary grinned; knowing that they were all excited, and was just sadistic enough to draw it out a little.

"Anyone want seconds?"

There were groans of anguish, and Ian and River exchanged an amused look. This was pretty funny.

Gary obviously thought so too – although he took pity on the kids far quicker than Ian might have.

"Okay, campers, this is what we're going to be doing tonight. Up in the field are eight large tents. They're set up just like the cabins are; in the same order, and with the boys on one side and the girls on the other. In between the tents is a very large metal bowl. If I find anyone touching the bowl – or anything in it – you're not going to get to participate in the campout tonight. Understood?"

There were murmurs of agreement – although it was obvious that the kids were curious about this large metal bowl, too. They wouldn't do anything to ruin this campout, though, so none of them were going to touch it. Even if it had been filled with chocolate.

"When I dismiss you, I want you to go back to your cabins and grab your pillows. You'll take them up to the field, and find the tent with your cabin's country on it. Put your pillows in your tents on one of the sleeping bags that you'll find there and then meet in the empty part of the field so we can explain what we're going to be playing. Okay?"

There were shouts of agreement. Excited shouts that threatened to deafen the room, and Gary wasn't the only adult in the room to smile.

"Okay, up to your cab-"

He was completely cut off by the mad rush of kids as chairs were pushed back (a couple fell over, complete with the kid that was in it) and the children swarmed for the doors, talking excitedly among themselves. Ian started to push his chair back as well, and felt a gentle hand on his back. He looked up and saw Mandy had come and was standing behind him.

"Don't forget to stop at my cabin so I can take care of your back," she reminded him. The only reason he was able to hear her at all was because the majority of the kids had left the room.

He nodded.

"We'll meet you in the field," River told him, gesturing to himself and Shawn. There was no way the kids would stay calm for however long it took Ian to get his back lotioned. Shawn nodded his agreement.

"I'll be right there," Ian told them, standing up. If she was ready, then he was, too. His back was once more killing him, and the lotion she'd used earlier must have some kind of pain reliever in it, or something, because it had done a good job of allowing him to forget just how red he was. For a little while, anyways.

Besides, he didn't mind missing the first game or two if he could avoid it. He was clean and dry for the first time since he'd woken up that morning, and he wouldn't mind staying that way for a while.


	41. 41

One side of the field was suddenly filled with tents. Eight large tents just like Gary had said. Big enough that each would be able to hold a cabin of kids and their counselors. It would be close quarters, but none of the kids were large, so that was an advantage. The tents were in the same position as the cabins, again like Gary had said they would be, and in the middle of them was a large bowl that appeared to hold a large supply of what looked like lanterns. Probably for something later on when it got dark, Ian decided. Hearing the noise of the kids – even though the small tent city hid them more or less – he walked through the tent area to the other side of the field to see what they were doing.

They were playing a balloon game when Ian reached them. An odd balloon game. Everyone had two balloons on strings tied to their ankles – one to each leg – and everyone else was apparently trying to pop the other peoples' balloons by stamping on them without letting their own get popped. It made for a lot of running around, a lot of laughing, and a lot of jumping up and down to jerk their balloons out of reach. The kids were obviously enjoying it, though, and even though a few of them were accidentally knocked over or tripped, it was far more civilized than he'd thought such a game could be.

But he was glad he wasn't playing it.

"How's the back?"

He looked over and saw Gary had joined him while he'd been standing at the edge of the field, watching.

"It's fine."

"Good." He smiled. "I was wondering, then, if you'd be willing to help me with the next game?"

And why didn't _that_ suddenly sound incredibly ominous?

The problem was, he couldn't think of any good reason to say no. Of course, he couldn't think of any real good reason to say _yes_, either. Swearing – to himself – he nodded, and Gary's smile broadened.

"Stay here. I need one more volunteer."

Well, at least he wasn't going to be alone in his misery.

Gary walked over to the growing group of people who were 'out'; meaning both of their balloons had been popped. He returned a minute later with Hank, and a couple of the members of the staff – who were carrying paper grocery bags that were filled with something.

"Let's get you two outfitted…"

Ten minutes later the last of the balloons had been popped and one of the girls from Japan was the surprise winner of the balloon stomp game. Mainly because she had been a lot more graceful than those around her – and a lot luckier. With the help of the counselors, the kids got the strings removed from their ankles, chatting happily about the game they'd played. None of them were at all worn out from a busy day of playing, but that was just as well, because Gary wasn't finished with them yet.

He gathered them all together, bringing them close enough that they could hear him.

"Are you ready for the next game?" He asked.

"Yeah!"

It was almost a single cry of excitement, and Gary's smile was wide as he waited for the kids to calm down enough so that they could hear him again.

"Okay… the next game we have is kind of the opposite of tag. Our two volunteers are 'it', but instead of them trying to catch you guys, you're going to try to catch them."

There were assorted murmurs among the kids – and a couple of the counselors – as they tried to figure out who was it, and why they'd want to catch up with the person who was it, but Gary raised his hand for silence and received it almost immediately.

"_Why_ do you want to catch them, you ask?" he said, gesturing towards the closest tent, which had been used for a staging area. A moment later Ian and Hank walked out to come stand by Gary. And both of them had at least fifty tootsie roll pop suckers taped to their chests and backs. "Because if you can grab a sucker off of one of them, you get to keep it!"

This announcement was met with cheers, and the kids broke instantly, not even waiting for the word go. They swarmed for Ian and Hank, who took off at a run, dodging in and around the kids in an effort to not be tagged any more than necessary – although Hank was running slower than necessary and Ian was actually making the kids chasing him work for that little piece of candy. He wanted his kids worn out, and it hadn't escaped his notice that all of the boys from Australia were chasing him.

"How on Earth did you get them to volunteer for _that_?" Shawn asked, coming over to Gary and holding a tootsie roll pop that he'd snagged from Hank's back.

The camp director smiled.

"I told them we'd have stories tonight instead of a lot of singing if they did it."

Yup. That would do it. Shawn grinned, wishing he had a camera – but fairly certain Ian would feed him every picture he tried to take. He ate his sucker as he watched the kids chasing the two guys (and understood immediately why the two volunteers were _male_ counselors).

OOOOOOO

By the time the last sucker had been snagged, it was well past sunset. The lanterns that had been in the metal bowl were taken out and lit, hung around the field so the kids wouldn't get lost out in the dark and the counselors would be able to keep track of their kids. Ian and Hank were excused from the last game of the night – a game designed to calm the kids down a little – so that they could get the odd bits of tape off their shirts, and by the time they came out of the staging tent, all the kids were now sitting on the grass around the large metal bowl. There were two lanterns in the bowl. One was giving off an orange light, and one was giving off a yellow light. Reflected in the bright sheen of the bowl it almost looked like there was a raging fire in the bowl instead of a couple of simple lanterns. Which was, of course, the whole idea. Without a fire pit, it would be far too risky to have an actual fire in the field – especially with the tents the kids were sleeping in being so close to it.

"Okay, guys," Gary said as the two staff members who played the guitars at campfire came up to them with their guitars ready. "Only a couple of songs tonight."

There were moans of dismay and grumbles – but Ian and Hank weren't grumbling, and Shawn had to admit that he didn't feel like grumbling either. Gary wasn't at all alarmed.

"Because then we're going to tell _stories_!"

"Yay!"

Again the enthusiastic roar.

"_Ghost_ stories?" One boy from Hank's cabin asked.

"Maybe."

"_Scary_ ones!" One of the girls said, proving that the boys weren't the only ones who liked scary stories.

"Not _scary_!" One of the other girls said, shaking her head. "I don't want a scary story."

"We'll see what happens," Gary promised, smiling. He wasn't worried. They already had plans for this night. He gestured to the guitar players, who stepped up to the 'fire', and started playing one of the songs they'd learned the night before last.

I_ wuv a wabbit  
A cwazy, cwazy wabbit  
Hop, hop bunny, bunny  
Hop, hop bunny, bunny  
Hop, hop, hop, hop, ho, ho.  
He wuvs his cawwots  
His cwazy, cwazy cawwots  
Chomp, chomp bunny, bunny  
Chomp, chomp bunny, bunny  
Chomp, chomp, ho, ho, chomp chomp.  
When he goes to sleep at night  
I kiss he and he kiss I  
If he's been a such and such  
He sleeps out in the wabbit hutch.  
Oh...CHORUS_

Ian sighed.


	42. 42

True to his word, there were only a few songs – and luckily for Ian's sanity, they were fairly short and not repeated over and over and over. When the last chorus of _Coming Around the Mountain_ died out, Gary stood up again, and took the place in front of the fire while the guitar players left to put their instruments back in their cases.

"Okay, campers!" Gary told them. "You have ten minutes to run down to your cabins and get ready for bed – make sure you go to the bathroom _now_, because we don't want any accidents in the middle of the night."

The kids all laughed, and with the counselors leading the way with flashlights in the dark field, they all went down to their cabins, where they brushed their teeth and changed into their pajamas – although River told their boys to keep their sweatshirts, since he didn't want any of them to catch a chill. After making sure everyone went to the bathroom – whether they needed to or not – they headed back up to the fire, talking excitedly, but more silently than before. Obviously the day was beginning to catch up with them, because they weren't nearly as energetic as before. Which was the whole idea, right?

Once they were all gathered together again and sitting in the grass around one side of the fire, Gary went back to the front of them.

"Okay, kids! Time for a story…"

He didn't give them an option to listen or not, but Hines knew it wasn't going to be a spooky one so he wasn't worried about any of them not liking it.

"Out in the middle of nowhere, on this dark deserted road there was a hotel. Everyone that lived in the area said that the hotel was _haunted_…"

A couple of the kids drew their sweatshirts up over their eyes – as if that was going to make it any less scary. Gary smiled, and continued.

"No matter what those people said, though, there was always someone – some poor soul out traveling – that would have to stop for the night. And they'd end up staying at that hotel."

Ian felt Sammy scoot just a little closer to him, until the two were hip to hip, but when he looked down, the boy was watching Gary with an excited grin, not at all worried about being frightened.

"So one night, a guy comes in. And he tells the innkeeper he'd like a room. The innkeeper says, 'all we have left is the attic, and it's haunted.' But the guy doesn't care. He's tired and really wants to get some sleep. 'I'll take it,' he says. So he goes up to the attic, and gets ready for bed, and is juuust about to sleep, when he hears this deep scary voice. '_I am the ghost with the one black eye…_' The guy get so scared, he jumps out of bed, pulls on his clothes and gets in his car and drives off."

The kids grinned at that, but Gary wasn't finished with the story. He went on to tell how two more salesmen came to the same hotel the next two nights, and they too, were forced to stay in the haunted attic. And each time they would hear '_I am the ghost with the one black eye_…' and they become sacred and leave the hotel that very night.

"So then, the next night, this old woman comes into the hotel," Gary said. "She was at least 90, and had a cane and everything, and she told the innkeeper she needed a room for the night. And the innkeeper said that all he had was the attic – and it was haunted. But the old woman shrugged, and said she was tired and needed some sleep – she'd take it. So she goes upstairs, gets ready for bed, and is juuuust about asleep when she hears a deep voice; '_I am the ghost with the one black eye_…' Instead of getting scared like the others, she sits up in bed, and reaches for her cane, and yells back 'Hush up and let me sleep, or you're going to be the ghost with _two_ black eyes'."

The kids loved it. They giggled at the image and those that had been afraid of hearing a scary story realized that it wasn't so bad, after all. Gary gave them a minute or two to laugh, and then held up his hands for silence – which he received instantly.

"Now it's a counselor's turn. Hank?"

Surprised at being called up, Hank nonetheless stood – to the cheers of his boys – and went up to the front of the 'fire'.

"Okay, I got one," he said. The campers hushed, immediately, watching eagerly. "There was a lone cabin in the center of a dark and deserted wood. And everyone just knew it was haunted, because they said you could hear a voice in the middle of the night coming from the cabin – and nobody lived there…"

The kids leaned forward, enthralled.

"So these three boys were bragging to their friends about just how brave they were, and they said that they were going to spend the night there – just to prove it."

Ian heard Chance take a sharp breath at that from the other side of him.

"So, one night – on a dark moonless night like tonight – the three boys went to the little cabin and opened the door and went inside. The first boy went into the kitchen, and just as he was about to turn on the light, he heard a voice… '_When I get you I'm going to eat you_…' He got so scared, he jumped out the window and ran home without even telling his friends he was leaving."

The kids laughed, a little nervously, since some of them weren't all that sure that this was going to be a funny story like Gary's had been.

"So the second boy says that he wonders where their friend is, and he goes into the kitchen. Just as he was ready to turn on the light, he hears '_When I get you, I'm going to eat you_…' He gets scared, and jumps out the window and runs home – without telling his friend he was leaving."

The kids were silent, caught up in the story.

"So the third boy starts wondering where his friends are, and he, too, heads into the kitchen. Just as he's about to turn on the light, he hears '_When I get you I'm going to eat you_…' and he turns on the light and sees a little kid sitting there, picking his nose."

There was a slight pause as they figure it out, and then a lot of ewwwws and grosses and groans at the awful ending. Hank grinned.

"I never said it was a _good_ one," he told them, and he sat back down in his vacated spot, while the kids around him pretended to throw up.

Smiling, Gary stood up once more.

"All right. _Ian_?"

Surprised, Ian looked up.

"Yeah?"

"Your turn."

Ian frowned.

"I don't know any scary stories."

The campers closest to him start pushing on him, encouraging him to get up and tell them a story, too. Even those who hadn't been enthusiastic about stories instead of singing were all getting into the swing of things, now, and they were eager for Ian to tell them another funny scary story.

"Come on, Ian," Hank said from close by. "I did it. You can, too."

"No, _really_…" Ian said. "I don't-"

"Come on, Ian," Ann said, a challenge in her expression. "_Scare us_."

The kids roared their agreement. They wanted to hear another story.

Reluctantly, Ian stood up, and the kids cheered – especially the ones from Australia. Moving to the front of the group, Ian was well aware that he was poorly equipped for this assignment, and tried once more, looking at Gary.

"I don't know any-"

"Just do your best," Gary said, smiling. He started to slap him on the back, remembered Ian's sunburn at the last minute and didn't. Instead, he sat down, and the kids all watched Ian expectantly.

He racked his brains, thinking of something scary, and finally shrugged.

"A long time ago, in another gala- in _this_ very area… there was an ancie- _old_ race of people."

His voice wasn't the best for story telling. He didn't change pitch or tone like the others had, he just told the story. But his voice was level and his dark gaze in te light of the fake campfire gave him a slightly sinister look that added to the story he was telling.

"These people were great folks. Peaceful when they could be, and friendly to those around them. They lived and prospered for several millennium."

The kids were silent, watching.

"Then… all of the sudden, a new enemy came into being. These beings _weren't_ human. They weren't friendly and they weren't peaceful. They were pale, with horrible faces, and when they attacked, they came at those people in the night, sending shadows through the forest to distract them so they could come right up to them without being seen. These creatures called themselves the Wraith, and the people believed them to be ghosts, because they only saw the specters in the forest – and none of those who first came in contact with them lived to say otherwise."

Now the silence around the imaginary fire was deafening. The kids were watching with wide, terrified eyes, but Ian didn't notice the difference from how they'd been watching before.

"The Wraith didn't eat what normal people eat," Ian said. "They fed on _people_ – but not like you and I eat meat. Instead, they'd take their hand, and press it against their victims' chest-" he gestured with his own hand against his chest, showing them what he meant. "It would suck the life out of a person, leaving them a dried, empty husk, and that person would die – painfully, and horribly. The humans didn't have any defense against the Wraith. They'd never seen anything like them before, and the shadows that they sent through the forests to distract their prey always fooled them. The Wraith fed on the humans for several years, and then suddenly vanished without a trace. The humans that were left thought the Wraith had left for good, but they were wrong. They weren't gone. They were just hibernating for a while. They were waiting for the humans to forget about them, and for the humans to reproduce and grow in numbers once more so they could wake and feed on them again."

There was absolute silence when Ian finished this story. None of the kids cheered, or laughed, or giggled. All of them were watching him in various degrees of horror as they waited for the happy ending that they were sure was to come. And they weren't the only ones. The counselors, too, were waiting.

Ian went back over to his spot and sat down, and Gary, pale and a little wild-eyed himself, stood up and cleared his throat.

"Um… bedtime, I think."

There weren't any protests. The kids had had more than enough stories for the night, and there wasn't a sound as they all got up and headed for their tents, many of them casting fearful glances at the dark woods around them and then moving to walk closer to their counselors.


	43. 43

_Author's note: In_ First Times and Formals _(chapter 37) Ian has a dream about a creature that Alexander tells him is a Wraith. That's where I first mention that he's starting to learn about them. Thanks for the reviews!_

OOOOOOOOOO

As they were walking to their tents, River moved to walk beside Ian – which wasn't easy since all of their boys were walking closer to their counselors than was the norm. When they reached the tent, the boys filed in silently, but River reached out and took hold of the sleeve of Ian's sweatshirt.

Ian stopped.

"Yeah?"

"What the hell was _that_?"

"What?"

"That nightmare of a bedtime story…"

Ian scowled.

"I _told_ them I didn't know any scary stories. It's not my fault it wasn't any good."

River shook his head, realizing Ian didn't understand what the problem was.

"Man, you don't know shit about kids, do you?"

"What was your first clue, Sherlock?"

Annoyed, Ian headed into the tent, and found that Chad, who _had_ had his blankets closest to the entrance of the tent now had them against the back of it – where most of the boys had moved their blankets as well.

"Into bed, guys," Shawn said, also giving Ian an odd look.

The New Yorker frowned again.

"What?"

"When Jake gets older, you're not allowed to tell him _any_ goodnight stories, okay?"

Ian sighed, and headed for his blankets. He wasn't all that keen about sleeping on the ground, but at least he didn't have to worry about cracking his shin on that fucking rail this time. It took forever for him to get comfortable – the sunburn was killing him again, although he didn't sleep on his back so that was a saving grace, and apparently every rock in the field was under his section of the tent poking him painfully – but eventually he drifted off to sleep, completely oblivious to the fact that no one else in the tent had even closed their eyes.

OOOOOOOOOO

It was a bad night for the counselors at Camp Millcreek. Rugged tents that were designed to keep out the weather did very little to muffle the sounds of the night, and being up in the field where there were trees surrounding them on three sides only magnified the fact that there were creatures outside; nocturnal creatures that were scurrying from one place to another, hunting for something to eat – or being hunted. And all of them were making noises it seemed. These were all normal sounds of the night, but to the suddenly alarmed children the sounds weren't made by little harmless creatures. They were made by _Wraith_; big frightening faceless Wraith that were just out of sight, waiting for some unsuspecting child to fall asleep so it could put its hand on their chest and suck the life out of them, leaving them an empty husk.

The counselors tried to calm them – every time someone heard a snapping twig or a shifting stone there was an uproar in whatever tent it was – but the children were tense, and it took a lot of doing. Only when the long day and night finally caught up to them completely did they start drifting off, and even then they would be startled awake by the slightest sound, even those made by the others in their tents.

Exhausted counselors moved their blankets to the entrances of the tents, hoping that would soothe, and all of them had at least one child cuddling close by, which was a small price to pay when they finally drifted off.

OOOOOOOO

The sound of rain woke Ian. It was either that, or the fact that he was really warm. So warm, in fact, that he was actually sweating, even though the tent wasn't all that warm, really. He opened his eyes, and immediately found the source of that extra warmth. Huddled in his blanket, Sammy was sleeping right up against him on the left. When Ian turned his head, he saw that Chance was sleeping right up against him on the right. The two boys must have become cold in the middle of the night and moved close to him for warmth, Ian decided – just a little annoyed. At least, he was annoyed until he saw that Shawn and River were both surrounded by kids, too. Then it was more amusing than anything else.

He debated going back to sleep. The sound of rain hitting the top of the tent was something Ian had always found lulling and the fact that it was raining told him that jogging wouldn't really be all that much fun. However, the extra body heat coming from the boys sandwiching him was uncomfortable, and the longer he lay there debating going back to sleep the hotter he was getting. Besides, if the boys were asleep, then they wouldn't want to jog with him, right?

That right there was enough to get him up. He slid out of his blankets from the bottom so he wouldn't disturb the boys, and then slid his feet into his shoes. Stepping quietly over the mounds of sleeping people, he made his way to the tent opening and almost tripped over River's arm, which was flung out from under the blanket he was sleeping under. Carefully (because he _really_ didn't want any company while he jogged) he opened the zipper of the tent and slipped out, zipping it back up so the rain that was coming down wouldn't soak Hayden. He wasn't a total prick, after all. Most of the time.

The sky was a steel gray that was almost too dark to see through, and the rain didn't help. It really was coming down hard, and Ian's hair was soaked before he even made it as far as the cabin. He changed into sweats and a different t-shirt – realizing as he did so that he was almost out of clean clothing – and then slid his running shoes on. By the time he finished dressing, and stretched (inside out of the rain, thank you very much) the rising sun had lightened the sky enough that running wouldn't be dangerous – although the rain would make it slick and possibly treacherous, so he'd have to be careful of that he knew. He slipped the Air Force Academy sweatshirt back on, and then headed outside. He'd run the fence line again, and would make up for the shorter jog the day before with the kids by running an extra distance today. With the rain coming down like it was, he wouldn't have to worry about overheating, anyways, and he could pretty much run forever without tiring.

OOOOOOOO

Gary Hines frowned when he woke. The staff tent he'd been sleeping in had a leak that they didn't know about and there was a large puddle of water not that far from where his head was. His pillow was drenched, which was uncomfortable, and he was slightly chilled. Obviously the rain that had been forecasted to start that day had arrived early, because it was raining buckets.

Rolling over, he listened for the usual sounds that would tell him most of the children were awake. When he didn't hear any – not even the noise of any kids chattering – he frowned and sat up, looking at his watch. It was well past seven – later than he'd intended to wake. The dark skies had probably thrown off his inner clock, and he'd forgotten to set the alarm on his watch. Ah well, it wasn't like he was the cook or something, so he didn't actually have to wake up early or anything. He'd go see how much damage the kids had done goofing off in the early morning rain, and then send them to their cabins to dry off and get ready for breakfast. Which would give him plenty of time to go get a nice hot shower and some warm clothing as well.

When he emerged from his tent, however, he realized that the kids had been quiet because they weren't in the field playing in the rain. As he passed close to the tent that the kids from Japan were sleeping in, he heard only silence and an occasional soft snore. The entire camp was still asleep, apparently.

Probably they'd stayed awake late chattering, he thought. Or maybe they'd had trouble sleeping after that story Ian Brooks had told them. Even Gary – who had heard plenty of scary ghost stories in his time – had never heard anything like that one, and it made him shiver even then.

He left the campers sleeping, and headed for the main building, where his own apartment was. A shower and a chance to warm up would make him feel better. And then he'd wake the kids. They weren't on a fixed schedule, after all. It wouldn't kill them to sleep in.


	44. 44

Showered, shaved and freshly dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and his only dry sweatshirt, Ian walked into the cafeteria expecting to see at least a few of the other counselors holding tables for their cabins. True, he hadn't seen of his boys when he'd returned from his run, but he'd assumed that meant that they were screwing around up at the tents, still – which had been an area he'd studiously avoided on his morning jog. He hadn't expected that everyone was still up there – and he knew from glancing at the schedule earlier that they were definitely having breakfast here, and not up in the field. Like anyone would want to eat up in the field anyways.

"Get the shit rained on them and soggy cornflakes to boot," he muttered to himself, looking out the window.

"You're Ian, right?"

The voice came from the serving window between the dining room and the kitchen, and Ian looked over and saw the cook leaning on the counter there.

"Yeah."

He walked over to the counter, drawn by the smell of cooking bacon.

The cook held his hand out.

"Jared Miller."

They shook hands, and Ian was glad to see that the guy didn't go immediately for the whole _who had the strongest handshake_ bullshit. He hated it when people did that.

"Nice to meet you."

Now can I have some breakfast?

"Gary came by about twenty minutes ago and told me that the kids are running a little behind. Apparently everyone slept in or something, so we're going to be starting breakfast a little late."

Damn.

"That explains why no one's here, then…" Ian said, more to himself – although Jared nodded.

"They'll be around in ten or fifteen minutes. If you're hungry, though, I have bacon and muffins already cooking, and while the muffins will taste just as good warm, the bacon definitely is best served hot – which means I'll need to turn what I've cooked into bacon bits or something. You're welcome to as much of it as you want."

Ian smiled.

"Thanks."

"Toast?"

"Not if you haven't made some." There was no need for an imposition, after all. "A muffin?"

A plate of muffins was sitting behind the cook, and he simply reached back and took a couple off the plate and handed them to Ian – along with a small plate of bacon.

"I need to get busy, but if anyone asks, you stole it."

Ian nodded, taking the plate.

"Thank you."

He went back to the table he was reserving for his cabin, and started munching, even as the dining room crew started setting tables and getting ready for breakfast.

OOOOOOOO

Fifteen minutes later Ian was finished with his pre-breakfast snack and was just thinking about maybe mooching more muffins off Jared when he heard the bell ring.

"That'll be the breakfast bell," Ian heard the cook tell his staff. "Let's get things into serving bowls."

By the time they were done doing that – and from his spot at the table Ian couldn't really see much of what was going on in the kitchen – the other counselors were starting to trickle in. All of them looked sleepy, and most of them threw Ian looks that ranged from annoyed right up to incredibly pissed off. Not that he wasn't used to people being angry with him – the looks were hardly the first he'd ever received – but he was a little curious why they'd all decided they were pissed at him at the same time.

Even Hayden looked annoyed with him when he entered the dining room.

"Where have you been?" River asked as he sat down.

Ian scowled.

"Right here."

"The kids were-"

Just then there was a sudden influx of children – as if the floodgates to kiddyland had just opened up – and the boys from Australia came rushing up to the table, followed by Shawn, who was walking at a more normal pace. All of them had wet heads from the rain outside, and their jackets and sweatshirts were fairly damp – telling Ian that it was still pouring. As if he couldn't see that through the windows that overlooked the lake.

"Ian!"

Sammy came rushing up to him, grabbing the chair beside his and flopping into it without even watching what he was doing. It was a wonder he didn't fall off and crack his head open.

"Where _were_ you?" Chad asked, looking just as relieved.

"I've been right here."

What were they, the location police?

"We were worried…" Chance said, taking the spot beside River, his dark face just as relieved as Sammy's and the others.

Ian was baffled.

"Why?"

"Because they thought the…" River trailed off, scowling. "Just check in before you leave in the middle of the night, okay?"

It was Ian's turn to scowl, now.

"It wasn't the middle of the _night_. It was-"

"Good morning, campers!"

Gary Hines had entered the room, and had moved to his accustomed place to give announcements. He, too, looked wet, but not at all annoyed like the others did, which was just as well as far as Ian was concerned.

Instead of the cheery response he normally received, Gary's greeting was met with yawns, and the vacant look of those who are too tired to care what's really going on. Clearly sleeping in an extra hour didn't really do all that much good for the campers – or their counselors. A few kids did manage to wave, though.

"It's raining pretty hard outside," Gary said, continuing as if they were just as chipper as usual. "So today when you're finished with breakfast, we're going to be meeting down in the gym for indoor games. Okay?"

There were a bunch of nods, and even a few looks of expectation, but more of the kids were zombies from lack of sleep – although Gary knew that condition wouldn't last all that long. Kids were walking bags of energy – and that couldn't be dampened for too long. Not at this age.

"Good. Let's eat!"

_Now_ there was a lot of enthusiasm. As each table belatedly picked its runner and counselor, Sierra and Hank both came over to Australia's table.

"Hey Ian… got a minute?" Hank asked.

Since he'd been one of those with the annoyed expression on his face when he'd entered the dining room, Ian was inclined to tell him to go fuck himself – fairly certain that he was just going to try and get into something with him. Instead, though, since there were little kids watching, he shrugged, and stood up.

"Be right back, guys."

Ann and Hank led him outside – luckily under the awning so they weren't getting rained on.

"Okay, Ian…" Hank said without preamble. "You made the mess, now you need to come up with a way to fix it. And soon."


	45. 45

_Author's note: Okay, I did some name switching at the end of the last chapter (which is why you should never try to have an IM conversation while you're editing a chapter) It's Ann with Ian and Hank. Not Sierra._

OOOOOOOO

Ian scowled.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your nightmare of a bedtime story."

"What about it?"

Hank and Ann both stared at him.

"Are you _kidding_?" Hank asked. "My boys didn't sleep until early morning."

"Neither did my girls," Ann agreed, seriously.

"How is that my problem?"

"It was your _Wraith_ story you stupid sonofabitch." Hank said, lack of sleep making him far more blunt than he might have been since apologizing to Ian only the day before for being a jerk. "They-"

"Hank." Ann didn't like the name calling, and it was obvious from the cold fury suddenly appearing on Ian's face that he didn't appreciate it, either. She turned to back to Ian once she was sure that Hank wasn't going to say anything else. "Your story scared the kids."

"You _told_ me to scare them."

"She didn't tell you to traumatize them."

"They look okay to me," Ian said, defensively. What the fuck? How were they blaming him for their kids not sleeping? He'd slept fine.

"They're not," Ann said, shaking her head. "I talked to the other counselors – including River. None of the kids slept last night - including your boys."

"They were asleep when I woke up."

"Jesus, Ian," Hank snapped. "Mine had nightmares all night, and every time they-"

"I thought you said they didn't sleep?"

"Fuck you, Ian."

"Kiss my ass, Hank."

"Guys."

Ann prudently stepped in between the two of them – although Ian had no intention of pressing any physical issue. He was pissed, but Hank was no match for him in a fight and he knew it. One thing he'd learned from Bra'tac was self-control (although not anger management) and there was no way he'd even take a swing.

"Ian… the story you told last night really _did_ scare the kids." Ann obviously couldn't understand how he couldn't see that, but she was willing to explain. Far more willing than Hank was, at any rate. "My girls were up half the night, jumping at any noise made outside the tent and those that did sleep had terrible dreams."

"I told you guys I didn't know shit about telling stories," Ian said, still tossing dark looks at Hank. "I tried to tell Gary, I tried to tell both of you."

"Well, we didn't listen," she said. "But you need to fix it."

"Fix it?" He asked.

"They're afraid – even though it's daylight now, if you don't do something to let them know these Wraith aren't something to fear, when it gets dark again it's going to be a repeat of last night."

"You want me to tell them the Wraith don't exist?"

It wasn't like Ian cared if the kids knew about the Wraith or not. They weren't going to have to deal with them or anything, after all.

Ann, however, shook her head.

"I've already tried that – and so has Sierra and a couple of the others. You're going to have to come up with something else."

"Like what?"

"Figure it out," Hank snapped.

"Fu-"

"Ian." They didn't really have a lot of time for this. The kids were waiting for them to join their tables. "Just try to think of something. _Please_?"

She didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she went back into the dining room, followed by Hank who only hesitated long enough to glare at Ian once more.

Ian's scowl was thunderous.

"'Just try to think of something…'" he muttered. How the fuck was all this his fault? Why should he have to figure out anything? He hadn't begged to be asked to tell a story, had he? No. He'd tried to get out of it – and just like Hammond, ole Gary Hines had to flex his _I'm king shit in charge_ mentality and force Ian into something he hadn't wanted to do. And look where it got them. Just _fucking_ lovely.

He went back inside, but he wasn't in the mood for conversation, and luckily the kids were too involved in trying to eat as much as they could as quickly as they could to mind.

OOOOOOOO

"Okay, Campers!"

The room silenced as Gary walked to his customary position for announcements. Breakfast was pretty much over and even the hungriest of kids had been filled up, and now they were all eager to find out what they were going to be doing next.

"Since it's raining outside, we're going to cancel the morning activities that we had planned," Gary said.

There were groans of disappointment – although everyone had known the schedule was going to change with the rain, including the kids – and Gary waited for them to die down, never losing his smile. He was used to that, after all.

"Once you have your tables shipshape and cleared away, I want you to head down to the gym. Okay?"

The kids were waking up, now, and most had forgotten – for the moment at least – the fear of the night before, and they yelled their agreement, eager to see what they were going to be doing next.

Gary was glad to see the change; he'd known it would come, he just hoped that it wouldn't take too long.

"I'll meet you down there, then."

Gary left the dining room heading the direction of the stairs that led to the gym, and the kids started talking amongst themselves, wondering what they were going to be doing.

"I hope we're doing arts and crafts," Chance said, excitedly. "Japan made these cool bracelets, and I want one."

"I hope we're playing games," Bruce disagreed.

"Me, too!" Chad said.

"Me, three!" Brian agreed.

"Me, fou-"

"Ian?"

He'd only been paying half-attention to the kids – mainly because he'd been brooding – but Ian turned without being startled and saw Mandy had come up to him.

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget to come to my cabin."

She was interested in seeing how his sunburn was doing.

"I won't."


	46. 46

"Do I dare ask why you look so _mad_?" Mandy asked him only ten minutes later.

The two of them were in her cabin/infirmary, and Ian was on the stool once more, his shirt off and holding still while she checked the sunburn on his back and shoulders.

He scowled – she didn't see it – and hesitated. While it wasn't any of her business, and he didn't normally confide in strangers, he was also smart enough to know that he was truly in for a shitty rest of the week if he couldn't figure out a way to make things better. The other counselors were pissed at him, and although it was hardly going to break his heart to have a bunch of people he couldn't give a shit less about mad at him, he also knew he wasn't going to be able to just up and leave – which meant he'd have to put up with dirty looks and lectures for the rest of the week. Not something he was looking forward to.

Maybe Mandy would have a suggestion on how to make things a little better. Ian didn't have a clue.

"Everyone's pissed at me."

"Oh?"

"Yup."

She had a feeling that he wasn't all that concerned about that. Which meant there must be more. So she did a little fishing.

"Why?"

"They were telling stories up in the field last night, and Hines forced me to tell one – even though I told him I didn't know any good ones."

"And…?"

"Apparently I scared the kids or some such shit and they didn't sleep last night – and kept their counselors up all night."

"And the counselors are blaming you?"

"Yeah."

She couldn't help but be curious.

"What story did you tell them?"

Ian told her the story in the exact same words that he'd told the camp the night before. The nurse listened with amazement, wondering where he'd even come up with something – and someone – so awful – and why he'd ever think it was a story to tell little kids.

"So now…" Ian said, once he was finished, "they're all pissed because their kids are having nightmares or not sleeping – and they say it's my fault…"

Well aware that he was more or less whining, Ian couldn't help himself. It was all so unfair that he had to tell someone or he was just going to pop.

"It's not a very… _child friendly_ story."

"I _told_ them I didn't know any."

Mandy finished putting the aloe on Ian's back in silence, but as he was putting on his shirt, she came around to look at him. Which was much better than watching his back.

"So what you need to do is calm the little ones down a little… Once the kids are okay, the counselors will be, too."

"I asked if they just wanted me to say they didn't exist, but-"

"But that wouldn't work, I'm afraid." She smiled. "It wouldn't work with _my_ children – and my oldest is ten."

Ian sighed.

"You know… I didn't even _want_ to come here."

She nodded. It didn't take a genius to figure that out.

"You're doing okay, though, you know? Your boys seem genuinely fond of you."

"Joy."

She smiled, wiping her hands on a clean towel. There was no missing that sarcasm was there? She didn't mind, though. She was used to it. Her ten year old was just getting into that stage.

"You want _my_ advice on this Wraith thing?"

He nodded. He'd take any advice he could get. For that matter, he was half tempted to call Sam. Mandy seemed to be fairly intelligent, though, and she mentioned she had kids – which would give her more experience with them than Sam had – Jake was hardly much of a problem yet, after all – so she might be just as good - if not better in this instance.

"Find a way to make them less scary. Find something the Wraith are _afraid_ of."

He frowned. As far as _he_ knew the Wraith weren't afraid of anything. Of course, he couldn't tell her that, now could he? Then she'd think he was nuts.

"Like what?"

She shrugged.

"Come up with something. Something _simple_, though. These are little kids, and they don't need complicated. Just sincere."

"Huh…" It wasn't a question, it was an '_I'm thinking about what you just said'_ noise.

She smiled, and resisted the urge to reach out and touch his cheek. For one thing, _he_ wasn't her ten year old (she wouldn't have hesitated for a moment if he was) and for another, there was a bruise on his cheek.

"Just think about it. You'll come up with something brilliant, I imagine."

He scowled.

"You have more faith in me than I do."

Instead of arguing, though, he stood up and tucked his shirt in. There were activities he was sure he'd have to join in on – although Mandy was easy to talk to – and not at all angry with him like the rest of the world seemed to be.

"Your sunburn is fading nicely," she said, moving back to their original topic. "We'll lotion it again after lunch, but then it should be fine. Especially since there's no sun out today to make it worse."

Ian nodded, and reached for his damp sweatshirt.

"Thanks."

She smiled.

"That's why they pay me the big bucks."


	47. 47

The camp was involved in a giant 80-person game of _Simon Says_ when Ian returned from the nurse's cabin. Actually, it was _River_ _Says_, because River was the one standing in the front of the room, with all eyes on him – and since he was wearing a bright purple sweatshirt with splotches of other colors that were designed to resemble paint splatters – Ian was surprised that they weren't all going blind while trying to follow his instructions.

"River says… _touch your heads_!"

All the kids and counselors immediately put their hands to their heads.

The Californian grinned.

"River says… _everyone turn and wave hello to Ian_!"

As one the entire camp turned towards the door Ian had just opened and waved hi to him.

Ian scowled. There was nothing he hated more than being the center of attention. Well, yeah, there might have been a few other things, but just then, it was the center of attention. He raised his hand in a half-assed greeting, figuring he had yet one more reason to eventually kick Hayden's ass someday, and the others turned their attention back to River, waiting to see what he had for them to do next.

What he had was probably the trickiest set of Simon Says instructions that any of them had ever seen. They were also carefully shouted out so that the kids would have every opportunity to respond properly. While the whole idea of the game was to trick them, River was more than willing to allow them to last as long as possible. And the kids loved it – especially since many of them had never managed to stay afloat so long.

When the last two children were left, another counselor was chosen – not surprising anyone, Ian wasn't asked – to take over the Simon Says duties and River joined them in taking the instructions. Ian didn't. He simply leaned against the wall and watched, in no mood to join in – and frankly not at all willing to be cajoled. Luckily the kids were so distracted – _again_ – that they didn't even try.

"You're not going to play?"

Shawn had joined Ian in his spot near the door where he'd been leaning. The youngest of the counselors had purposely screwed up one of the first instructions in order to get out so he could talk to Ian, who had been looking fairly angry ever since breakfast.

"I'm not in the mood."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Seriously. What's up?"

Ian scowled.

"You haven't talked to Hank? Or Ann?"

Shawn shook his head.

"About what?"

"They're all pissed about that story I told last night."

"Ah." Shawn understood immediately. "Their kids didn't sleep last night, either?"

"Apparently not."

"And…?"

"And they somehow got the notion that it's all my fault."

Shawn snorted.

"It _was_ a fairly scary story…"

"They _told_ me to scare them."

"I know." Shawn watched as several people were tricked into being out, but his attention was on Ian mostly. "Ever the perfectionist, huh?"

Ian shrugged.

"Apparently."

He wasn't in the mood to be chatty, but it didn't bother Shawn. He was used to Ian's moodiness, and while this was bad, it wasn't anywhere near his worst.

"So you have to fix it."

"No shit." Wasn't that what everyone had been telling him all fucking morning? "Any ideas?"

Shawn shook his head.

"You're a genius. You'll figure something out."

"Thanks for absolutely nothing, Adams."

Shawn grinned.

"My pleasure, Cadet Brooks. Now, when the next game starts, you need to join in. Or else."

"Or else what?"

"Or else I'll tell Cassie all about the extra time you're spending with the nurse."

Ian scowled.

"So?"

"So, she'll tell her mom, who'll think that you want to spend more time in her infirmary than you already do."

"You're an evil man, Adams. Anyone ever tell you that?"

Shawn shook his head, amused.

"You're the _first_."

OOOOOOOOO

When the last game of Simon Says ended, they went on to a game of tag. Each kid and counselor had five clothespins attached to their clothing, and the trick was to snag the clothespins from the others while dodging them so they couldn't grab their own. Ian participated – even though he wasn't worried about Shawn's threat – and the commotion actually proved to be a little bit of therapy. Not that he _liked_ having people trying to snatch clothespins off him – and he definitely felt those times when someone accidentally whacked him in a bruised area instead of grabbing a clothespin – but the activity gave him a chance to take his mind off everything else. For a little while, anyways.

The next game was almost as good. Called Rock, Paper, Scissors, Gary divided the campers (and counselors) into two even teams and put one on either end of the gym. This was their base. Then he explained that the teams on either end would get together and decide – quietly – if they wanted to be rocks, paper, or scissors. Once both teams knew what they were, the two teams met in the center of the gym and faced off. As Gary Hines counted one, two, three, the two teams hit one open palm with a closed fist in typical rock paper scissors fashion.

"Whichever team wins the rock paper scissors game for that round chases the members of the other team as they try to make it back to their base. Those who get tagged have to go back to the other side with the people who tagged them," Gary said, watching the faces of the kids to see if they understood. And they did. "Ready?"

It was obvious they were, and there was a low rumble of murmuring from both ends of the gym as they decided what they wanted to be.

"Everyone ready?" Gary asked, as they broke up and headed for the middle of the gym, the two groups looking tense and excited.

"Yeah!"

"One! Two! _THREE_!"

Ian's team was rocks, and they defeated the scissors team. As the mad scramble ensued to catch as many of the losers as possible before they made it back to their base, Ian had to grin. This was one of the dumbest games he'd ever seen, but the kids were lapping it up. He wasn't quite the convert that they were, but even he was able to enjoy himself during the next twenty minutes as his team grew, and then shrank, and then grew once more.

His subconscious mind, however, now free from the constraint of his anger, was able to consider the problem of the Wraith story without his own fury at the injustice of how unfair it was that everyone was mad at him getting in the way. And the solution – a _possible_ solution, anyways – struck so quickly and out of the blue that Ian actually ended up getting tagged by one of the little girls. Crowing with delight at her capture, she led him by hand over to their base, and Ian waited just long enough for her attention to be diverted by the group picking their next choice of rock paper scissors before walking over to Gary, who was waiting for the two groups.

"You okay?" Gary asked, assuming Ian had taken a shot to the bruises or something. He certainly looked a little stunned.

"Yeah. Do you have any paint?"

"Sure. Why?"

"I'm going to need some…" Ian walked away, heading for the door that led outside, and leaving Gary standing there in the center of the room, wondering what the heck he was up to.


	48. 48

River was the first one to notice Ian was gone. Mainly because the Californian had seen him caught by a little girl and had planned on mocking him for it when the two teams met at the middle of the gym for their next rock paper scissors competition. When he hadn't seen him line up, however, he looked over at the walls to see if he was leaning against one, pouting or something. Ian wasn't really a pouter, River knew, but he _did_ brood – and besides, being caught by a _7-year old_ was definitely reason to pout.

He wasn't there, though. He wasn't anywhere in the gym. River was so distracted by this that he was tagged only moments later by the same girl that had caught Ian. Now she was definitely crowing her success, and she dragged him by the hand back to her team's wall – much to the amusement of those who were watching.

Since Shawn was on this team, however, it was fine with River. He went over to his friend, only listening with half his attention at what they were going to be the next time they went to the line.

"Where'd Ian go?"

Shawn looked around, which told River that _he_ hadn't known Ian was going anywhere.

"I don't know."

"Off sulking? He looked pretty pissed earlier…"

"He's a bit angry," Shawn acknowledged.

"Why?"

The two of them were speaking softly, and moved to the side of the gym, against the wall, so that they wouldn't get trampled in the game.

"The other counselors are upset at him for his Wraith story. Their kids didn't sleep last night, either."

"And they told him off?" River asked.

Shawn shrugged.

"I guess. All I know is he's not happy about it."

"It _was_ a pretty bad story…"

"And he _did_ try to tell them he didn't know any good ones."

"Yeah, I know."

"Maybe _next_ time he tells someone something is a bad idea, they'll listen to him."

River snorted.

"Which doesn't answer the question where he is…"

"He's probably off trying to figure out how to make it better…"

"Or in the bathroom…"

Shawn shrugged again.

"Maybe."

Since neither was inclined to go look for him, it didn't really matter where they thought he was. They both knew he'd turn up eventually (where else was he going to go, after all?), so they put it – more or less – out of their minds for the moment, and concentrated on playing the games with their kids.

OOOOOOOOOO

He didn't reappear during the activities in the gym, however. Although the games lasted all morning – and they were diverse and exciting enough to keep the kids from going stir crazy at being stuck inside – even though it was pouring outside and no one should be out in that anyways – the kids passed the time away enjoying themselves. As did the counselors.

When they were sent up to their cabins to get ready for lunch, Shawn and River half expected to find him there, taking a nap or something. Maybe his sunburn – or one of his bruises or something – was bothering him and he'd decided he'd had enough for the morning. But they didn't find him there, either. His bed was neatly made – it was the only one in the room that _was_ – and empty.

"Where's Ian?" Sammy asked, noticing for the first time that his favorite counselor was gone.

The other kids looked around, realizing the same thing.

"He's off taking care of something," Shawn answered. He didn't have a clue where Ian was, but he'd seen the convertible when they'd walked up the hill, so he hadn't left the camp. He'd show up eventually.

"Taking care of what?" Sammy asked.

"Something."

"Something what?"

"A _secret_ something," River said, rescuing Shawn – who really didn't have that much more experience with little kids than Ian did. He just had a lot more patience. River, of course, had experience _and_ patience, and it showed.

"Ooooo…"

Now, of course, the kids were curious what Ian was doing, but at least they weren't nagging about where he was. Let Ian come up with a story about where he was when he finally showed up. Not a _scary_ story, though.

"Come on guys, let's get down to the dining room. I'm starving."

Of course, one of them should have gone down and saved their table, but they hadn't thought of it. With Ian gone they were a little short-handed, and neither wanted to leave the other with all the boys.

There was a mad rush to the door.

"Jackets!"

The mad rush stopped just long enough for everyone to grab their jackets – it was still pouring – and then they headed down the hill at a mad run, joining the others coming from their cabins.

"Where do you think he is?" River asked Shawn as they walked a little slower, following the crowd. They weren't worried about the boys not finding their table – they'd had the same table for the last few days, and the kids thought of it as 'theirs'.

"Beats me."

That particular question was answered when they entered the dining room, however. Ian was sitting at their table, now surrounded by the boys of Australia. All of who were looking at something on the table in front of the dark-haired New Yorker.

"What is it?" Shawn heard Sammy ask. The little boy was standing beside where Ian was sitting, his little body pressed right up against him as he looked at it. He wasn't the only one who was waiting for an answer, though, and as Shawn and River got closer, more kids from other tables had noticed something was up and were coming over for a look, too.

"Hey… what's _that_?" One of the eight year old girls asked.

"None of your _business_," Chad said, defensively. It was on _their_ table right? So it had to be for them. Not for everyone _else_.

"Chad…"

Shawn wasn't going to let him get away with being rude, although he, too, was curious what was going on.

Sitting on the table in front of Ian – where his plate would have been if he hadn't moved it – was a rock. About the size of Ian's clenched fist, it was the usual grayish brown color most of the rocks Shawn had ever seen were. Right up until you looked at the front of it. On the front of the rock – the part turned toward Ian, and everyone else – was a face, painted in bright colors. It was vicious looking, with sharp teeth drawn coming out of a gaping red mouth, and with tiny ears and a small nose. Its eyes were squinted, as if it were scowling, but the eyebrows painted above them weren't pointed downward in an angry slant; they were up, like it was simply guarding, not mad.

"What is it, Ian?" Chance asked from the other side of the New Yorker. He was practically sitting in Ian's lap he was so close, but his eyes – and that of everyone else's – were on the table.

"It's my pet rock," Ian told him, leaning back a little in his chair. "The only thing in the world that a Wraith is afraid of."


	49. 49

"_Pet rock_?" One of the girls echoed from right behind Ian where she'd been peering around him to look at the thing on the table.

"What do you mean 'the Wraith are afraid of it'?" Chad asked at the same time.

There were a lot of murmured questions, but Ian just waited for them to all shut up before he answered. No sense trying to be heard over a crowd, after all.

"The Wraith that I told you about last night…? Remember them?"

As if any of them had forgotten.

There were a lot of nods, and now Ian had _everyone's_ attention – including the other counselors and even the staff.

"Well… pet rocks are the only thing the Wraith are afraid of."

"Why?" asked Wilson.

"Because _rocks_ don't have life force to suck out, and if they're close to the person that makes them, the rock – and _only a pet rock_ – will protect that person from the Wraith."

"What about pebbles?" asked a girl. "Will those work?"

"Only pet rocks," Ian said.

"What about trees?"

"Trees are alive," Ann said, smiling. She had a very amused expression on her face as she was looking at Ian's pet rock, which all the kids were craning their necks around those in front so they could see better. "Rocks aren't."

"What about water?"

"No."

"What about oranges?"

"No."

"How about sand-"

"Only pet rocks," Ian said, just barely biting back a vulgarity. Jesus, were they _trying_ to annoy him?

"Can I have your pet rock, Ian?" one of Hank's boys asked.

"I want it!"

"Me!"

"No, me!"

Ian held up his hand, glad in a way that the whole plan was working – who knew with kids, after all, since they appeared to be the dumbest thing on the planet as near as he could tell. But he definitely hadn't wanted to deal with this yelling shit.

"You _can't_ use someone else's pet rock," he said as soon as they quieted down. "You can only use yours."

"But I don't have one."

"Where do you find them?" Someone else asked.

"You _make_ them."

"How?"

The entire room was silent, now, breathlessly waiting for an answer.

"What do you mean how? You find the perfect rock, and then paint a face on it," he said, gesturing to his own. "It's easy."

"What does the perfect rock look like?" Chad asked, looking at Ian's.

"It's different for everyone. But it can't be too big, and it can't be too small. Remember, you have to carry your pet rock around if you want to be safe from the Wraith at night."

Of course, he knew that of there actually _was_ a Wraith around, it wouldn't matter if it was day or night – and they sure as shit wouldn't be able to count on a painted rock to save them. But Ian was counting on them being gullible. And he could see from their faces that it was working.

"I'm going to go find a perfect rock," one of the kids said, stepping backwards and then turning and heading for the door.

"Not until after lunch, guys," Hank said.

"Actually, if they find the rocks now, they'll have time to dry while they eat," Gary Hines said from his position at the back of the crowd where he'd been watching everything that was going on. "You can't paint a pet rock if it's wet, after all."

Lunch put on hold, the kids all rushed for the door, leaving a small crowd of counselors and staff members standing in the dining room.

"Smooth, Ian," River said, admiringly. The other counselors all headed for the door, knowing that they were going to end up being obliged to make pet rocks of their own – whether they wanted or thought they needed to.

Ian shrugged. He was just glad they were gone – although he could hear them all outside shouting to each other as they started picking up rocks and checking to see if they were the perfect rock.

"Yup."

He figured he'd gained himself at least a half an hour of quiet time – while the kids were out looking. He was such a genius.

Then the door slammed open, and one of the older boys came in, his wet hands filled with several muddy rocks, which he brought over to Ian for inspection.

"Which one do I _use_, Ian?"

Behind him, another kid was just arriving, obviously loaded with rocks as well, just as wet and muddy, and just as obviously heading for Ian. The dream of a little quiet time shattered like a broken window.

Shit. Maybe he wasn't quite the genius he'd thought he was.

OOOOOOOOO

"You think it's raining like this up at camp?" Sam asked, craning her neck to look out the living room window. Not easy to do since she was stretched out on the couch with her injured leg propped up.

Jack nodded.

"Probably."

The colonel was in the process of setting the coffee table up for lunch. They'd taken the day off (Sam's leg had been killing her when she'd woken that morning, and Jack had nagged her to stay home – and then when she'd capitulated, he'd decided that _he_ might as well stay home, too. Just to make sure she had company…) They'd spent a quiet morning working on various different activities for work – things that could be done just as easily from home – and now it was time to eat.

Since Sam wasn't very agile, and with the cast on her wrist she wasn't as nimble with her hands as she once boasted, he'd left her on the couch under the watchful gaze of Jaffer, and had prepared a very perfect rainy day meal. Soup and sandwiches. And they were both hungry.

"They're probably playing inside games," she said.

"Yeah." Of course, kids could get wet without melting, and Jack knew it. More importantly, he was pretty sure Gary Hines knew it as well. Which meant that they could very well be playing outside games, too. "Ian is probably having the time of his life…"

Oh, yeah. Sam had some definite doubts about that. Of course, when she glanced over at Jack, she could tell that he did, too.


	50. 50

Lunch was a lot noisier than breakfast had been. And served almost an hour behind schedule. It had taken that long for what seemed like every kid in the camp to go out into the rain and come back with a handful of the muddiest, ugliest rocks and bring them to Ian – who was obviously the only rock expert in the camp – for his approval. The floor was muddy. Australia's table was muddy. Ian was muddy from having rocks handed to him before he could wave them off. But eventually every kid had found that perfect rock that would eventually become their pet rock and their only salvation from the Wraith.

The rocks – and children – were sent to the bathrooms as they arrived from taking the unacceptable rocks back out to wherever they were found, and the kids washed their hands, and their rocks, then brought them with them to the dining room once more, where they were placed on the table by the kid to dry. When the last kid showed up, Jared and his helpers started serving lunch and Ian breathed an annoyed sigh of relief.

The kids were talking noisily with their counselors and each other about what faces they were going to paint on their rocks, and Gary told Ian and the rest of the staff that they'd intended to do arts and crafts in the gym anyways – to keep the kids indoors while it continued to rain – so after lunch the kids and counselors could head for the gym to paint their rocks.

Ian took his time eating. He had no intention of being in the gym any sooner than necessary, and he was pretty sure the minute he poked his head into the room all the kids were going to be bringing their painted rocks over to him to ask him how they looked or if they were good enough. If he wasn't there – and he wasn't _going_ to be – then the kids could ask their counselors. He'd just make sure to take as much time as possible eating, and then maybe just go to the cabin when he was finished having his sunburn looked at.

"Ian?"

He was pulled form his planning by Sammy, who was still casting glances over to Ian's pet rock, which was sitting by his water glass.

"Yeah?"

"What is your rock's name?"

"What?"

"Your _rock_? What's its _name_?"

Ian frowned. He hadn't actually thought it would need a name. Of course, now all the rest of the boys were watching him, waiting to hear what his pet rock was called so that they, too, would know what to name theirs. River had an amused smile on his face that he was doing a shitty job of hiding, and Shawn's brown eyes were just as amused.

"Argus."

"What?"

"Argus," Ian repeated, turning back to his lunch. "That's my rock's name."

"_Argus_?" Sammy repeated.

"Yup."

"What does _that_ mean?" Wilson asked.

"It doesn't _mean_ anything," Ian said, around a mouthful of bread. "It's just a name."

"_Argus_?"

The boys were looking spectacularly disappointed. They'd assumed Ian's rock would have a cool name. A powerful name. Something like _Bob the Destroyer_ or _Rex the Mighty_. Argus was just plain odd. They looked at the rock again.

"It's from Greek mythology," Shawn said to the boys. "Argus was a guardian – a watcher. He's said to have had a hundred eyes so he never missed anything - even when he slept."

Actually, Shawn was impressed that Ian had come up with something like that for a name on such short notice. It was very fitting. Of course, Ian's education was far more complete than Shawn's – he'd been a genius a lot longer, after all.

"Mythology?"

Now Shawn was the one getting the blank looks, which amused Ian to no end.

"It's what they call stories from way back when," Shawn explained.

"Like before _dinosaurs_?" Bruce asked.

"Not that far back, no."

"Just from a long time ago," River said, trying to pull Shawn out of what was going to end up being a lengthy explanation if he didn't. "There are a ton of stories – really interesting and exciting ones – from that period of time."

"Like what?" Brian asked, interested. He wasn't the only one, either. The rest of the boys were watching River, too.

"I'll tell you some later, if you want. For now, you guys are going to have to start thinking of names for _your_ pet rocks, too."

"I'm going to name mine _Argus Junior_," Sammy said.

"Me, too!" Chance agreed.

"Me, thr-"

"You can't name them Argus," Ian told them, stopping them before they even got started. That was all he needed.

"Why not?" asked Sammy.

"Because they need to have their own name. They can't _all_ have the same name, for God's sake. Why not just call it A, B or C if you're going to do that?"

"But-"

"Just come up with a name," Ian said. "Something other than Argus."

"How do I do that?"

"Do you have a dog?"

"No."

"A cat? A fish? A _hamster_? Any pet?"

Ian was starting to get annoyed, Shawn and River could both tell, but he was doing a fair job of controlling that.

"I have a bird."

"Does it have a name?"

"Yes."

"Did _you_ name it?"

"Yes."

"How did you name it?"

"I just thought of a name."

"So do the same with your rock."

Sammy hesitated, looking at the wet, brown rock in front of him.

"I can't call my rock _Feathers_…"

Shawn snickered, and Ian shot him a look that plainly said to either help or to shut up.

"I didn't say call it the _same_ name, Sammy. Just give it a name. Like you did with your bird. It can be anything."

"But not Argus," Chance reminded him.

All the rest of the boys fell silent, looking at their rocks and obviously trying to come up with a good name. Several of those campers – male and female – who had been close enough to hear the conversation also fell silent as they, too, tried to think of a name for their rocks, and Ian breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He wasn't ever going to have kids. Not in a million fucking years.


	51. 51

"How does _this_ look, Ian?"

Ian sighed – again – and looked at yet another painted rock. The _43rd_ one by his count. This one was painted mostly red, with white eyes and mouth, no nose, and green hair. The little girl who was holding it was clearly impressed with her own work, and Ian had the feeling that her asking his opinion was more or less just a formality.

"It's fine," he told her, putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans so she wouldn't offer the damned thing to him to hold so he could check it out better. He already had paint all over himself, and it'd take forever to scrub it off his forearms and hands – and forget about saving the shirt he was wearing, because the shit was never going to come out of the white fabric, he was sure.

She smiled happily, and went back to what she was doing, and Ian moved out of the chair he was sitting in – one that was supposed to have been as far from the arts and crafts tables as possible, but was still way too close as far as he was concerned.

He'd tried to escape this whole mess by staying longer at the nurse's cabin. Unfortunately, his back was declared just fine, and she hadn't even lotioned it. Truth be told, it felt fine, too – he just had hoped for the extra time, was all. Even worse, he hadn't been able to think of any small talk – something that he hated just as much as he hated hanging out with kids – and hadn't been able to think of any reason to stay. Short of chopping off his hand with a pair of scissors or something. Then, when he'd intended to head to the cabin to get out of the rain, he'd been intercepted by kids, who were all streaming down to the gym where tables had been set up with paints and all sorts of crafting items. With them nagging him, there had been no way for Ian to get away, and he'd joined them on their trek to down the hill – reluctance personified.

"Problems?" Shawn asked, as Ian approached the far door. The young man was well aware that his friend didn't want to be where he was, and was trying to figure out a way to escape. The only problem was; there wasn't any way he could. All afternoon activities had been suspended in favor of arts and crafts in the gym – and Gary was actually pleased that the kids had the pet rock project to keep them so occupied.

"This sucks."

Shawn grinned. So few words, and yet Ian had managed to put so much into them.

"They're going to be done soon."

"Joy."

"And then we'll be playing games again."

"Yay."

Oh, the sarcasm was oozing! Of course, Shawn wasn't at all offended, and he really did understand why Ian was in such a lousy mood. Ian didn't like kids, and didn't like being in the center of attention, and now he was the center of attention of a large group of kids, and it was a wonder he hadn't gone down to the water and thrown himself in by now.

"The pet rock idea was a great one."

Ian nodded. While he didn't like the fact that it showcased him, there was no denying it had been successful – at least so far. Not that he gave a shit if the other counselors got any sleep or not, but at least they wouldn't be nagging him about how he needed to fix things and make them right, and he wouldn't have to listen to their whining for the rest of the week.

"Yeah."

"Where did you come up with it?"

"Just pulled it out of my ass, I guess. Did _you_ make one?"

Shawn nodded, turning his head toward the heat lamps that had been set up on the windowsills of the gym (the windows were screened to protect them during rougher games, but they still had deep sills where kids inevitably placed their pop cans or jackets, but were now cleared of everything but rocks drying under heat lamps). Closest to Shawn was a smallish gray rock with a happy face on it. Not at all fierce like most of those the kids were making, but Ian had told them that they didn't have to be fierce to be effective. They just had to have faces. Otherwise, knowing his luck, the rocks would scare the kids that had made them, and he'd hear all about that, too.

"I've named him Myron."

Ian snorted, and Shawn smiled. But only for a moment. Then his expression turned a little serious.

"These Wraith you're telling the kids about…"

"Yeah?"

"Do they _exist_?"

Ian frowned. He knew that Shawn didn't know everything that had been going on at the SGC lately – he knew about Jake's birth, of course, but not about Ian's downloaded memories, and Ian was pretty sure Shawn didn't know about what Ian was now certain was Atlantis. But Shawn was half Ancient, and there was always the chance that he held some kind of racial memories. And if he did, then the Wraith might very well be a memory triggered by Ian's tale. Which wasn't something he'd considered when he'd mentioned them.

"Why do you ask?"

Shawn shrugged.

"It just sounds familiar…"

It was Ian's turn to shrug.

"Yeah. They exist. But not here."

Shawn smiled.

"I _knew_ that. Where are they?"

"I'm not sure," Ian admitted. Since there weren't any counselors or kids around to overhear them, he wasn't too concerned about discussing this – although the Wraith weren't something he'd mentioned to anyone at the SGC, either. "They're just something I've heard about. They might not exist _anymore_."

"But they did at one point?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe Thor mentioned them…" Shawn said, obviously trying to figure out where he'd heard about them.

"Maybe."

Unlikely, but you never knew.

"Well, at least-"

"Ian! How does _this_ look!"

They were interrupted by the arrival of pet rock number 44. This one in the paint-smeared hand of one of the seven-year-old boys. It was a fierce looking monstrosity that looked more like a jack-o-lantern than anything else – although it was definitely designed to be scary.

"It's fine," Ian said, automatically.

Shawn grinned.

"What did you name it?" He asked the boy.

"Harold."

"I'm going to get some fresh air," Ian said, scowling. "I'll talk to you later."

Shawn nodded, knowing that with company, the subject of the Wraith was closed – as it should be.

"Gary went down to the fire pit… maybe you could see if he needs any help…?"

That would give Ian a good excuse to escape the gym – and the kids.

"Good idea, Adams."

Of course it was a good idea. He _was_ a genius, after all. Right?


	52. 52

Even walking in the rain was preferable to hanging out in the gym with the kids, so Ian didn't hurry as he headed to the fire pit. Sure enough, Gary was there with a couple of the staff members, directing the erection of an odd-looking tarp that was apparently designed to allow the kids to have campfire even with the rain coming down. It was already up enough that Ian could see how the angles of the canvas would deflect the rain from coming into the area that the kids would be sitting in – and it would also allow the smoke from the fire to escape if the wind blew it that direction without choking the campers. It was pretty clever, he had to admit.

"Ian, give us a hand, will you?"

Gary was on a ladder – as was one of the other staff members – but it was clear that the wrong person had been selected, because her arms just weren't long enough to reach the eyehole that the tarp needed to be attached to, and everyone else was occupied holding various ends of the thing and couldn't come to their assistance. To top it all of, there was just enough of a breeze that it was flapping the tarp and making it almost impossible to hold on to.

He trotted over and climbed the ladder the woman was on, reaching around her and grabbing the connector. Then with his other hand he took the corner of the tarp from her and quickly hooked it on before the breeze jerked it out of his hand – and before the woman could get any bright ideas about their close position meaning anything more than what it was. You could never be too careful after all, right?

With her end up, it was simple for the other ends to be connected, and a moment later everything was set. Gary climbed down from his ladder, looking up at the enclosure cheerfully, and then joining Ian and the woman – whose name was Peg. Peg was standing just a little too close to Ian for his comfort. They weren't on the ladder anymore, after all, and the campfire area _was_ fairly large.

"Thanks for the assist," Gary said.

Ian nodded.

"No problem."

"The kids can't be done making their pet rocks already…" Peg said, making it more of a question. She wasn't quite ready to be left out of the conversation just yet, after all.

Ian shook his head.

"I just thought I'd get some fresh air."

"You're soaked," she noted.

He ignored that, but before she could realize he wasn't going to answer her, Gary spoke up.

"We don't normally do campfire in the rain, but I didn't want to disappoint the kids, and this age group really enjoys the experience of campfire – especially the kids who are coming for the first time."

Ian grunted something unintelligible and Gary grinned.

"It's not going to be _too_ long tonight," he promised. "Not with the rain expected to continue."

"Does it normally rain like this?" Ian asked, wondering why anyone would want to go to a camp if it was going to be raining half the time they were there. Of course, he'd never wanted to go to camp when he was younger anyways – rain or shine.

"Sometimes," Gary said, shrugging. "The weather is unpredictable up here."

"I think the rain is refreshing," Peg said.

Ian scowled. She didn't have to slog through it with a half dozen six-year-olds, did she?

"We're making s'mores tonight," Gary said, gesturing to the side of the fire, where one of the other staff members was setting up several long metal 'sticks' that would be used to skewer several marshmallows at once. "The kids will like that."

"Sounds great," Ian said, trying hard to make it sound like he meant it. "I'd better get back to the gym."

He'd rather put up with the kids – who weren't interested in any more from him than just company and advice on their pet rocks – than put up with Peg, who seemed to be standing closer to him every minute.

"I'll be along shortly," Gary promised. "We'll be playing games when they're done painting their rocks, and after dinner we'll be in the gym playing Millcreek's own version of killer kickball."

"Which should wear them out nicely," Peg told him.

Right up until they loaded them up with sugar at campfire, Ian thought. He didn't say anything, though. He just turned and headed back up the hill towards the camp, noting as he did so that the trail was pretty muddy and there were probably going to be a lot of messy cabins that night when the kids came in from campfire. He'd just make sure that the Australia kids took their shoes off when they walked in the door.

OOOOOOOOO

Ninety-one pet rocks were lined up on the windowsills under the drying heat lamps watching the campers play kickball after a hearty dinner.

The kids were divided into two teams, boys and girls well mingled amongst them, and the rules were fairly simple. Everyone on one team was up each inning, and they kicked the ball – which was pitched to them by a member of the other team – and ran the bases. At least as far as they could. Then, the next person was up, and if no one caught their kick (which would make them automatically out) then they would run the bases as well. It wasn't unheard of to have several people stuck on one base, waiting for someone to kick the ball really hard and maybe get them all home safe. The only problem with that was that anyone left on base after the last person on the team kicked the ball was automatically out so the other team could be up. Which meant the last people in the line up tended to take more risks than those at the beginning of the line up and they also tended to get out more often.

The kids enjoyed the game. It was active and exciting, and the ball wasn't hard enough to hurt when someone flung it at them – which made it fun to get tagged out, even. It was difficult enough to catch that when someone did manage to catch it the others were impressed, and there was almost always high-fiving going on and cheering. The kids were warm, and full, and even though they hadn't had a lot of sleep the night before, they were still going full out.

Ian was once more the pitcher for his team, but although everyone seemed to be aiming for him – and he was pretty sure they _were_ at first – the ball really didn't hurt when he was hit with it. After he caught these rogue balls a few times, the kids on the other team realized that aiming at him wasn't necessarily such a great idea. No one _wanted_ to get out, after all – and Ian was proving he was more than capable of catching anything that came near him. Made even more so when he realized that they were going to stop aiming at him if he proved to them how costly it was going to be.

When his team was up, he encouraged his kids to kick it as hard as they could, but stayed back from doing much more than that, well aware that his competitive nature might come out – along with some choice words. Especially since his team wasn't winning.

"Campfire next," River told him cheerfully as the two hung around the rear of the line waiting for their turn to be up.

"Joy."

The Californian smiled.

"Do me a favor…"

"What?"

"Help Shawn make sure the kids get there."

Ian frowned.

"Where are _you_ going to be?"

"Special assignment."

Which was pure bullshit and Ian knew it.

"Yeah? With who?"

The twinkle in River's blue eyes told Ian he was right on the money, and River's smile turned into a grin. A slightly naughty grin.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

Ian scowled, but this was hardly the place to argue with River about his alley cat morals.

"Just try to remember we're not supposed to have more kids leaving camp than arrived, okay?"

River grinned, taking that as permission – which it wasn't. Of course, he didn't _need_ Ian's permission, or his blessing, and both of them knew it.

"Thanks."


	53. 53

"Where's River?"

Ian shook his head.

"Don't ask, Adams. You don't want to know the answer…"

"Oh?"

It was apparent from his tone of voice that Shawn did want to know the answer, and Ian shrugged. They were on their way to the cabin to get the kids ready for campfire – it was still raining like a sonofabitch and Ian was glad that the canopy was up to keep them at least somewhat dry – and since the boys had rushed up to the cabin ahead of them, it was more or less safe to answer without big ears hearing.

"He's off with someone."

"A _female_ someone?"

Shawn wasn't stupid, of course, and he knew River even better than Ian did.

"Most likely."

If he _wasn't_, then Ian didn't want to know about it.

"He's not planning on being gone long, is he?"

Not that Shawn was worried about him and Ian being able to handle the kids – Ian acted like he didn't like the boys, but Shawn knew he'd never let anything happen to them – he just didn't want things to get too out of hand with River. There was always a chance the Californian and whomever he was '_with'_ could get caught in a compromising position, and Shawn hoped that it wouldn't happen, because it would be worse than scandalous, and it wasn't something that either River – or the camp needed to deal with.

"He'd better not be," Ian drawled, telling Shawn that he was pretty much thinking the same thing.

"We'll-"

They'd reached the door of the cabin by then and it was thrown open even as Shawn started to say something, revealing Sammy and Brian, who were just as wet as Ian and Shawn – only they were inside, now.

"How long until we get to go down?" Sammy asked, excitedly. Gary had mentioned s'mores when he'd dismissed the kids, and they were all excited about having that extra treat before bedtime. Especially now that all of them were armed with pet rocks to protect them from the dark and the Wraith. They were ready to enjoy a campfire!

"Not until the bell rings," Shawn said. "Find some dry clothes."

That was all they needed were for the kids to get chilled.

"Where's River?" Brian asked.

"He's…"

"He's off looking for a good place for us to sit," Shawn lied. Shawn was a much better liar than Ian was – although the New Yorker had had no intention of answering that question truthfully." He'll probably just meet us down at the campfire pit."

"Cool."

"Get a dry sweatshirt on," Ian said to Sammy, who was shivering. Of course, it could have just been excitement, but why take any chances? He looked at Brian. "You, too."

Both boys scrambled to obey, and the other boys in the cabin did the same – if they hadn't already done so. Then they hung out in the cabin, talking excitedly about their pet rocks and what songs they wanted to sing, while Ian slipped on his other sweatshirt – which was only a little less damp than the one he'd been wearing most of the day. At least this one didn't have paint all over it – but Cassie was probably going to kill him for ruining her sweatshirt.

Darkness fell early due to the heavy cloud cover, and by the time the bell rang, the only lights that they had to help them – and the other campers – find their way down to the campfire were the lights that lit up the parking lot, porch lights from each cabin, various lights from the main building to their right, and the lights from their flashlights – most of which were running out of batter power due to being used so often the night before when the slightest sound would send several beams of light toward the sound.

"Stay close to us," Ian said to the kids who were walking in the rain with him and Shawn. The kids were more than willing to do just that. Hands in their pockets clutching their pet rocks, they were feeling a little more secure about venturing out into the darkness, but they still wanted to be close to Ian and Shawn, and it was a fairly tight group that walked down the first hill that skirted the parking lot, and then down the next hill that led to the lagoon where they could see the light from the fire illuminating the canopy that was going to keep the rain off them.

"Where's River?"

"He's probably around," Ian said, evasively. "Just sit down over there where it won't rain on you."

He pointed to the place he wanted the kids to go, and they went willingly, greeting the other kids – mainly the _boys_, of course – and showing off their pet rocks, while at the same time checking out the large pile of marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers that was sitting near the fore, but far enough away that they weren't getting melted before they were supposed to be.

Gary was standing nearby, mainly watching the kids, but also guarding the snacks from the suddenly starving kids, and when most of them were gathered and seated, he nodded to the two staff members with the guitars. The two stepped forward and the kids quieted instantly, and then the music started, and Ian found himself wishing that he was making pet rocks again as they started singing – and the first one was to the tune of Pomp and Circumstance…

_Little toad, o little toad  
why did you hop onto the road?  
You used to be so cautious,  
but now you make me nauseous.__  
O little toad, etc._

_You used to be so big and sweet,  
but now you're just coyote meat,  
O little toad etc._

_You used to be so big and fat,  
but now you're just a big red splat  
O little toad o little toad, why did you jump into the road?_

The kids loved that song. It was an easy one to learn, and it was gruesome enough that the boys sang loudly and with gusto – except Ian, of course. Halfway through the second time around, the New Yorker found himself joined by River, who sat down without a word and started singing, proving that he'd been within hearing at least long enough that he knew the words.

"Where the hell have you been?"

River ignored the softly hissed question, instead just smiling. Which he knew would annoy Ian. And it did.

Then they sang _She'll be Coming Around the Mountain_ again, and _that_ did even less to make him cheerful.

When the song was over, they made s'mores, and the kids were occupied for a fair amount of time while they munched on their sticky, sweet and gooey treats. It was a break for Ian, who didn't eat any s'mores – although he was more than willing to let the kids take as long as they wanted to. Unfortunately, they ended up singing again almost as soon as the last bite was swallowed – and the song was another one that the kids sang loudly.

_Well, I stuck my head in a little skunk's hole  
and the little skunk said  
"Well bless my soul.  
Take it out. Take it out. Take it out.  
Remooooove it."_

_Well, I didn't take it out  
and the little skunk said,  
"If you don't take it out, you'll wish you had.  
Take it out. Take it out. Take it out.  
Remooooove it."  
Pssssssssssssssssssss_

_I removed it too late!_

The kids roared with laughter at the end of the song, but Ian could have cheered when Gary stood up and the guitar players moved off to the side.

"Okay, kids! It's wet and getting cold, so we're going to call it a night…"

There were moans and groans but Gary didn't mind. He was used to that, too. Again, Ian felt like standing up and doing a wave all by himself.

"Up to your cabin! And don't forget to brush your teeth!"

There were more grumbles, but the kids started getting up, shepherded by their counselors who were carrying more flashlights than the kids were. River joined the boys, who were talking excitedly as they walked up towards the cabin, but if he did that to avoid questions from Ian and Shawn, he was wasting his time. Neither cared where he had been now that he was back.

They counted heads when they reached the cabin to make sure they didn't lose anyone on the way up from the campfire, and once they were certain all the kids were there, they ushered them into pajamas and then into bed.

"You guys can talk," River said, from his own bed. "But you have to do it softly."

The Californian was well aware that the kids weren't going to stay up late that night. They hadn't slept much the night before and they were tired – at least they would be once the sugar highs wore out.

The kids reacted predictably; chatting quietly in the dark room, and almost immediately starting to drift off one by one. Just as Ian started to fall asleep as well, a soft knock on the door brought him awake – and he rolled over on the little bunk to face the door just in time to see River open it, letting in a flood of light from the porch. In the light, they could see Gary, and Ann. Both looked tense, and immediately Ian was certain that River's little tryst had been discovered – although he had to admit he hadn't expected Ann to be the other party.

He was proven wrong only a moment later.

"_Ian? Shawn_?" The voice was soft, but carried easily into the dark, quiet room.

Ian sighed, and rolled out of his bunk, whacking his shin on the rail. Again. And then he joined Shawn and River at the door, expecting to hear some kind of lecture for River's behavior. Instead, Ann looked at Gary, whose face was serious in the dark. Gary closed the door, leaving the five of them on the small, wet porch.

"We're missing a camper…" He said, softly.


	54. 54

"Missing?" River echoed, confused.

"Who is it?" Shawn asked.

"One of ours," Ann said, looking more upset now that the kids couldn't see her. "I'm not sure what happened. I _know_ she was-"

"Who is it?" River asked, interrupting.

"Libby."

"I've already started the staff looking for her," Gary said, "But we're going to need more help – especially since we're not sure how long she's been missing."

"She could be anywhere," Ann said, wringing her hands and shaking her head. "This is all my fault…"

"It's not-"

"If she could be _anywhere_, then maybe we should start looking for her, too" Ian said, interrupting. It was one thing to not be interested in hanging out with the kids, but it was another matter completely when one was missing and maybe lost. Ian wasn't a totally heartless prick, after all. "She was at campfire," he continued. "Did she go back to the cabin with your group?"

Ann looked as if she wanted to ask how Ian knew she was at campfire – she never really registered all of his kids being there, after all, but he certainly seemed sure he'd seen hers. She didn't, though. Instead, she nodded.

"I saw her coming back with us, but I'm not completely positive that she made it all the way to the cabin. I don't remember seeing her, anyways. I just assumed she…"

"Don't worry," River said, patting her on the back reassuringly. "She's probably fine."

Ann nodded, hoping that was the case. It was cold and dark, though, and there were a lot of places that someone could get lost. _Especially_ someone little.

"Sierra is with the girls in their cabin since Danin knows the camp better than she does. We want two of you to come help search as well – someone needs to stay with your boys."

"I'll go," Shawn said. That only made sense since Shawn knew the camp inside out as well.

Ian nodded.

"I'll go, too."

"I can go," River objected. "I-"

"I've done search and rescue with SG-1," Ian said. "And I've jogged the perimeter of the camp, so I probably know the outside area as well as Shawn does."

Good point. River looked like he wanted to argue, but he just nodded. Of course they could put their boys into a cabin with someone else – group all the kids together, even – but that would raise questions and upset the kids when they didn't need them upset just then. Someone would have to stay with the Australia boys, and River was going to have to be that guy. Even though he hated that.

"Let's go, then."

The three counselors went into their cabin so Ian and Shawn could get dressed again, and the boys were all awake and watching.

"What's going on?" Brian asked. He'd been closest to the door, and while he couldn't hear what they were all talking about because of the closed door and the pounding rain, he could hear tones of voices and knew they'd been serious.

"Nothing much," River said, affecting a nonchalance that he didn't feel. "Ian and Shawn are going to go help take care of something down at the main building."

"What?" asked Sammy from his bunk as he watched Ian pull on jeans and a still wet sweatshirt over his t-shirt. "Can I come, too?"

Ian didn't even look up from sliding his shoes on.

"No."

"Can I?" Chance asked.

"No."

"Can-"

"_No_," Ian snapped, standing up and reaching for his flashlight. "Let's go, Adams."

OOOOOOOO

The rain was coming down as hard as it had been all day, and coupled with the darkness the light from the flashlights didn't go far. Ian and Shawn followed the lights from the main building and found Gary standing on the covered porch, holding a couple of walkie-talkies and waiting on them.

"I have groups checking up by the ball field, down by the water, over by the corrals and around the cabin areas themselves."

"What about the campfire area?" Shawn asked, before Ian could.

"That was the first place we looked," Gary told them. "There wasn't anyone there. If you guys would go help look around the water front area, I'd appreciate it."

There was no doubt that Gary was most concerned about the girl going to the water. The water was almost always the place that attracted the campers the most, after all, because it was off-limits most of the time.

He handed Shawn one of the radios he was holding, and turned when another pair of counselors came over, which left Shawn and Ian dismissed, although he hadn't actually meant to be so abrupt.

Neither of them was offended, though, and they headed toward the back of the main building, leaving Gary to direct the rest of the volunteers.

"What do you think she was thinking…?" Shawn said, shaking his head as they lost all the light from the main building and were suddenly dependent on only the light from their flashlights – which was precious little. Luckily, the ground was smooth and well beaten down in this area, so neither had to worry about tripping, although Shawn slipped in the mud once, but caught himself before he could fall.

"She probably wasn't," Ian said.

Everyone knew little kids were stupid. This was just proof of it.

They could see a light at the waterfront, but Shawn pulled up short, turning towards his left – in the direction of the fire pit.

"Maybe we should check the lagoon… Gary didn't mention that he'd sent anyone there, right?"

"No," Ian agreed. "And we can check the campfire area again when we go by."

"They already looked there."

"It's dark. Maybe they missed something."

"Why would she go to the fire pit alone?"

"Why would she go visit the fucking horses? Or go canoeing?" At least _his_ idea made a little sense. There was always the chance she'd hoped to find more candy bars or graham crackers down there now that everyone was gone.

"Don't snap," Shawn said, annoyed. (Which might have had something to do with the fact that rain was already trickling under his jacket). "I was just asking."

"Whatever."

"I'm going to check the lagoon. You go look in the fire pit if you want."

"I'm not going to look _in_ the fire pit, Adams. I'm going to look around it."

"Whatever."

Two could play the _whatever_ game, after all, and Shawn was just a bit short tempered – something that didn't happen all that often, although given who his dad was it was a wonder why it didn't.

Ian scowled, just as annoyed. He was already soaked and chilly.

"When you don't find her playing Captain Ahab on a canoe or sailboat, come find me in the woods around the fire pit."

"Try not to get eaten by a Wraith," Shawn snapped.

"Try to avoid any large fish," Ian retorted, turning and heading for the fire pit from the bottom of the hill while Shawn angled over towards the lagoon, which met up with the fire area a little further down. He was going to go look and see if she'd taken shelter under one of the upside down canoes. It was possible, right?

"Screw you," Shawn muttered, but Ian was already out of earshot, and Shawn was more or less glad that he was.


	55. 55

"'_When you don't find her playing Captain Ahab on a canoe or sailboat, come find me in the woods around the fire pit_,'" Shawn muttered as he wandered through the dark, his flashlight giving him the only light on the way to the tiny stream that fed the lagoon from the lake. He knew the area well enough that he didn't need any more than what he could – although he would have preferred that the rain stop. It was cold and hard and as much as he normally liked rain, he didn't like rain when he'd been dragged out of his bed to go looking for a lost girl. He would have liked a shining sun and plenty of daylight.

"_Libby_!"

He listened for an answer, but if the little girl was around him, she wasn't answering, or couldn't hear him.

Walking around in the dark, he could hear other voices calling for her from the other end of the waterfront – where the ski boat was – but they were muffled in the rain, just like his own was.

"Too bad Jaffer isn't here," he muttered to himself as he reached the far edge of the lagoon where the canoes were stored upside down when they weren't in use and started to check under each one. He assumed she'd come out when she heard him calling her name – assuming she was _there_ – but you never knew with little kids, and it was always possible she was hiding from the searchers. Although Shawn couldn't imagine why she would.

OOOOOOO

"Fucking stupid kid…"

Ian was just as wet as Shawn was, and just as chilled. And far more annoyed. Leave it to some little kid to have him dragged out of his bed in the middle of the night – okay, 11PM wasn't the middle of the night, but that wasn't the point.

"_Libby_!"

While the other voices he heard were concerned and worried – and almost frantic – Ian's was more angry than anything, and he couldn't help that. He was annoyed by his spat with Shawn, the constant nagging of the boys in his cabin, and why the fuck was it still raining? It wasn't like they were in Seattle or something, right? It was Colorado for shit's sake, and the rain was really pissing him off. And of course, there wasn't anything he could do about it, which just annoyed him that much more.

He listened for an answer, but wasn't surprised when he didn't hear one. Moving towards the seating area – and glad that they hadn't taken down the canvas covering – he leaned down and shined the flashlight under the benches to see if maybe the girl had somehow fallen asleep or something under them. Faint hope, but it was as good as anything, right? He wasn't surprised not to find her, but he did find something else.

Frowning, he moved to the other side of the benches and leaned over once more, reaching under one of them and pulling out a rock, brightly painted in reds and yellows with a green happy face on it. When he turned it over, the name "_Rocky_" was crudely painted in green. Not the most original name, but he'd seen a lot worse during the day. More importantly, _this_ was Libby's rock – how many times had she brought it to him during the creating stage asking whether it was done right? Seven. And the finished product wasn't really all that bad, once you got past the fact that it was so bright. River's was far worse, and much gaudier.

He put the rock in his pocket, and shined the light around the area once more.

"_Libby_!"

Again, no answer.

Ian wasn't really surprised, but he couldn't help but think that it wasn't a coincidence that it was Libby's rock down here and Libby who was missing. It wasn't a tough connection to make, after all. He moved out into the rain once more, shining the light as he walked through the trees and brush around the area, but staying off the main path since there was no way anyone could have missed her on the path.

"_Libby, Goddamn it_!"

He tripped over a root, swore again, and got to his feet, thinking that if he found the little brat he was going to give her a piece of his mind. A _great big_ piece. He tripped again, swore again and decided that if they were going to check this area thoroughly, he was going to need some help. Since Shawn was closest, he'd go get him – by now he was probably on his way anyways – since there was no way the brat was down at the water.

Heading straight through the brush, backtracking a little towards the campfire area but more towards the opening of the lagoon, which was just down only about thirty feet below the fire pit, although it was several hundred feet away going the direction Ian was going. The going was a bit tricky since there was a lot of water running downhill towards the lagoon from somewhere close by where it was pooling from all the rain, and it was making the mud slick. The only reason Ian didn't fall on his face more than once was that there were a lot of tree roots to catch his slipping feet. Which wasn't much better, really.

"Fucking rai-"

The muttered curse was cut off suddenly when Ian felt the ground under his slipping foot crumble. One minute he was sliding slightly downhill, the next minute there wasn't any ground under his feet at all. He tumbled tail over teakettle, hitting every tree and rock on the way down without a chance in hell of stopping.

"Sonofa-"

The curse was cut off when he slammed into a tree and came to a crashing halt, stunned but stopped. The flashlight went flying out of suddenly numb fingers, and the darkness was lit up by a blinding grouping of stars and light when he hit his head.

OOOOOOOO

"Hey, kiddo… don't you know you're supposed to be _asleep_…?"

Jack's voice was soft as he looked down at his son, who was wide awake and not at all ready to sleep.

"Jack?"

Sam's voice came from the living room, and he smiled again.

"Mommy's going to come rushing right in here if you start crying, you know? So you don't want that, because she'll probably fall down again."

Jake watched his dad, one hand holding his foot as he debated gnawing on it instead of the hand that was in his mouth just then. Jack knew the infant's looks well enough to know that the baby wasn't going to cry – unless he had a reason suddenly – but that he also wasn't going to go to sleep. He sighed, and shook his head, and then reached down and picked up Jake, blankets and all.

"Come on… let's go see if mommy can rock you to sleep."

Sam looked up from where she was stretched out on the couch, her leg up on a cushion with fresh ice packs around it, and Jaffer playing pillow. She smiled when she saw Jack come

"Woke up?"

Jack returned the smile, but then buried his face in Jake's belly, blowing a raspberry that made the infant squirm.

"Never went to sleep, I think," he said. "Want to give it a try?"

She nodded, and took Jake from him; careful to put him in the arm that wasn't sporting a cast.

"You've been fed, changed and rocked… what could you _possibly_ need?"

Jaffer reached around and swiped the infant's cheek with his tongue, making Jake gurgle happily.

Jack frowned in mock indignation.

"_I_ could have done that…"

OOOOOOOOO

"-_bitch_…"

Ian hurt. His head was killing him, his leg was throbbing, he felt like one huge bruise, he was lying in mud and God only knew what else, and he was still being rained on. He lifted his head, groaning at the surge of pain that coursed through his skull at the motion.

The darkness was almost absolute, and the rain was pounding on the leaves and ground around him. Still flat, he turned and looked the other direction, and saw the light from the flashlight close by. Illuminated in that faint beam were the raindrops falling and a shock of soaked blonde hair.


	56. 56

"_Shit_!"

His own aches forgotten, Ian scrambled over to the flashlight – and to the very still form of the little girl who was sprawled beside it.

"Come _on_…" He reached his hand out, desperate to find a pulse and not daring to move her until he did, even though she was lying in a puddle of mud and water. Her little face was pale and when he touched her cheek it was cold, but he immediately found that spark of life that made him gasp with relief. All he needed was that spark, after all. Maybe others needed more, but Ian was definitely equipped with the means to make the most of whatever little life there was.

Healing people seemed to be something that he did a lot of once he'd figured out how, but he was grateful for that just then, because all the practice searching around inside others – mainly Jack and Sam, he supposed – made him better at it, and only moments after he rested his hand lightly against her cold little cheek, he had a long list of the little girl's hurts; ranging from a simple scratch to a couple of broken bones that had put internal organs into jeopardy.

Ian took a deep breath, made sure he had hold of that little spark and was cradling it carefully, and then went to work. There were four ribs broken and cracked, and those were the most dangerous of the breaks, because the jagged pieces were pressing against Libby's lungs and liver. He put them back into position, healing them and then taking care of the bruise on the liver, sending the blood that had started to gather in her liver back into the little girl's system where it could be put to use instead of becoming a threat to her own life.

Libby gasped, but the still form didn't move under his hand. Ian _wasn't_ going to have a repeat of what had happened with Taylor, so he kept her unconscious for now. When she woke up, she shouldn't know what he'd done, and he definitely was going to keep it that way. He'd had enough god talk for his lifetime.

He double-checked to make sure he didn't miss any bone fragments, and now that she was already stabilizing he had a little more leisure to check the rest of her injuries. They were serious, but the ribs had been the most dangerous. Even more than the whack she'd taken to her head when she'd fallen. There was a bump there, but the skin wasn't broken and her skull wasn't cracked. Ian didn't even fix it; he didn't have the time or the energy to take care of something that didn't need his immediate attention.

Instead, he straightened her leg, which was broken. She yelped, even unconscious, and he knew he hadn't been as gentle as he should have been. He couldn't help that, though. It wasn't like they were in the infirmary, after all, and he was already feeling a little rummy from what he was doing. He didn't need to touch her leg to heal it – he just needed to be touching her – but it was easier if he was, and he pressed his hand lightly against the thighbone, just above her right knee. Then he moved down to the lower leg, and repeated the process.

A quick but thorough check to make sure he'd gotten all the serious injuries, and Ian knew he could move her without hurting her. All she had now were bumps and bruises – and a lot of them, he saw – but nothing that would be more than she could handle, and nothing that would keep her from a quick recovery.

He took a deep, tired breath – and then a couple more when he felt a wave of exhaustion go through him – and pulled Libby into his arms, figuring he'd pick her up and get her back up the hill now, so the nurse could take care of what he hadn't. And realized immediately that that wasn't going to happen.

He fell backwards, her slight weight enough to drag him to the ground, and he panted, feeling another wave of exhaustion coming on at the exertion.

"Fuck…"

He'd just take a minute to rest, then… that was what he needed, and it wasn't going to hurt either of them to wait another minute. He pulled Libby into his lap to keep her out of the mud and keep her as warm as he could. Then he leaned up against the tree trunk that he'd slammed into at the bottom of the washout, and closed his eyes, feeling the rain pounding down on him.

"Hang on, kid," he mumbled, nowhere near loud enough to be heard over the rain. His hand brushed her wet hair out of her face in a gentle gesture of concern that he'd never have let anyone else see. "I'll take a quick break and then we'll get out of here…"

OOOOOOO

"Well, where the _heck_ are you…?"

Shawn could have said hell. It wasn't like anyone was around to hear him, after all, and it wasn't like hell was all that bad of a word anyways. He didn't, though. He wasn't much for swearing, really – despite the fact that Ian and River had both taught him words and phrases that had actually made him blush a time or two. His mother hadn't liked swearing in the house, and James and she had never done it around him – not even when James had hit his thumb with a hammer once – and Shawn had grown up respecting that. Now that they were gone – and _that_ thought made him ache every time he thought of it – he didn't swear very often because he knew his mother wouldn't approve. He was sure she was still watching him, and he didn't want her to think less of him, and that alone was enough to keep him from uttering vulgarities most of the time.

So here he was; back at the fire pit looking for Ian who had told him to meet there. The only problem was that Ian wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Ian?"

Shawn shined the light back the way he'd come. There was no way he could have missed Ian – even in the dark – and the New Yorker wasn't a practical joker who would hide from him just because he thought it'd be funny. Especially when he was already grumpy, like Shawn knew he was.

"Ian!"

He could have gone back, Shawn supposed, but Ian wasn't like that. He wouldn't have left just because he was getting rained on or something – actually, Shawn had expected to find him under the canvas canopy and out of the rain.

"Crap."

Torn between looking for Ian and looking for Libby – or going back and getting more people, or seeing if maybe Ian had gone up the hill back to the camp for some reason, Shawn shined his light through the dark once more, although he couldn't see much except for leaves and branches, and he couldn't hear anything above the sound of the rain on the canopy protecting the campfire area. Finally he decided to backtrack and head back towards the canoeing area. Maybe he had somehow missed Ian in the dark. Especially if Ian had decided to get off the trail and look through the brush. Flashlight showing the way, Shawn headed for the small hill that led down to the opening area of the lagoon, uncertain of the way exactly but figuring he'd eventually come to the lagoon, or maybe get lucky and run into Ian.

"Ian!"

He made it a grand total of about fifty feet before he felt the rain saturated ground suddenly give way around him. Grabbing for something – _anything_ – he managed to catch a branch and hold on tight as what had a moment before been solid ground was now a small avalanche of wet mud that threatened to pull him down into the same washout that Libby and Ian had both managed to fall into. It was touch and go for a long moment, but the branch he had hold of was stronger than it looked and Shawn managed to keep from falling. He swung himself over to ground that was a little more solid, and took a deep breath, shining the light down on the area. He didn't see anything, but the light only went about five feet in the darkness and rain and he wasn't surprised.

"Ian?"

He wondered if it was possible Ian had gone this direction and had managed to take a fall, as well. The more he wondered, the more likely it became, and Shawn decided that there had to be the reason the New Yorker wasn't waiting for him. It had to be, because he wouldn't have left without him.

He turned and headed back for the campfire area, and then started up the trail to the camp. He'd need help, and more lights.

OOOOOOOOOO

An elbow digging into his ribs made Ian open his eyes. He wasn't asleep – although he really wanted to be – he was just resting, trying to get enough energy together to get the two of them out of the spot they were in. Moving his hand, and now very much aware of his own aches and pains, Ian shined the light down on the girl in his lap. And found her brown eyes wide open and looking at him.

"Ian?"

She was awake, and aware of where she was – although there was a dazed look in her expression that was a result of the bump to the head.

"Yeah. Hush, okay? I'm going to get you out of here, but I need a minute first."

"You're _bleeding_…"

Now there was a little fear in her voice, and her eyes reflected it.

"It's okay. _You_ are, too."

"I _am_?"

She squirmed, looking down and trying to see herself in the dark, and Ian tightened his grip on her, hoping that the knee in his groin wasn't going to move again.

"Hold still, Libby."

She was cold, and wet, and she hurt and was afraid – although she was glad she wasn't alone in the dark anymore.

"I want my mom…"

Ian nodded, and pulled her against him once more.

"Me, too."

"Really?"

"Sure."

He reached into his pocket with his free hand, and pressed something hard against her fingers.

"Here… I found this."

She looked down, and he shined the light on it so she could see it.

"Rocky!"

"Hold still for a minute, okay?"

As if she finally realized that he didn't seem to be as healthy as he could have been, Libby nodded, and leaned her cheek against his soaked sweatshirt.

"Are you okay?"

"Always."

Ian sighed, and closed his eyes again. Just another minute, and he'd be ready to give it another go. At least now, he probably wouldn't have to carry her.


	57. 57

"_Any luck anyone?"_

Shawn heard the tinny voice coming from the pocket of his coat, and felt like an idiot. He'd completely forgotten about the radio Gary had handed him! He stopped on the trail leading up from the campfire and pulled it out of his pocket.

"Gary? This is Shawn. Have you seen Ian?"

"_Not since he left with you, Shawn. Why?"_

"I can't find him, and when I went looking for him down here at the campfire area, I had a large chunk of ground wash out from under my feet…"

"_Has anyone else seen Ian_?" Gary asked, presumably calling to the other people who were searching for Libby.

There were an assortment of negative replies, and then a pause on the radio.

"_Everyone come in_…" Gary said. "_We'll compare notes and see what we have left_…"

Shawn nodded, and headed up the trail at a jog, slipping occasionally, but anxious to get reorganized so they could look for Ian, too.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Ian?"

The voice was soft, and accentuated with chattering teeth, and it took a moment for Ian to be able to force his eyes open. He was so tired that he could hardly feel just how much he hurt. Or maybe he was just so numb with cold that he couldn't feel anything?

"Yeah?"

"I'm cold."

Now that he was paying attention to it, he could feel her shivering against him, her jacket soaked completely through and no protection at all from the cold rain.

He ran his hand along her drenched hair, hugging her a little closer to him to try and warm her up, but it didn't do much. He wasn't any warmer, after all.

"Hold on a second…" he said, pushing her just far enough away from him that he could pull his sweatshirt off and slip it over her, jacket and all. Then he pulled her back into his arms and she cuddled up against him once more.

With his hand resting lightly against the back of her neck, Ian closed his eyes, concentrating on a spot in the back of her throat. He aggravated it just a little, bringing to bear her body's defenses, and using the those defenses to raise her temperature just a bit. Her immune system responded almost instantly – with a boost from him – bringing to bear a slightly elevated temperature, and a warm, flushed feeling that even he could feel. She'd feel a little sick, but it was better than her feeling cold, and this way he didn't have to worry about her catching a chill, either. Probably. Besides, she might not even notice feeling sick, since she was aching a bit anyways.

It more or less worked. Her teeth stopped chattering, anyways. It didn't help his whole exhaustion thing, but he was so tired anyways that it didn't add all that much to it, either.

"Better?" he asked.

She nodded, her head once more tucked under his chin.

"We're going to have to get going," he said, wishing that she wasn't there so he could just let himself fall asleep. Of course, if she weren't there none of this would have happened anyways. He couldn't blame her, though. She was a little kid. Little kids were dumb. That was just all there was to it. It was an adult's responsibility to make sure that the dumb things little kids did didn't get them hurt.

"I don't feel good," she told him, clinging to him. "My head hurts…"

"I know."

He did, too. But that didn't change that they had to get going, because he didn't know how long he could make her sick like he had without actually making her _sick_ from it. Besides, hypothermia was a real danger if they stayed out in the cold rain too long – and _his_ teeth were chattering, too.

"Come on."

He pushed her away and staggered to his feet, leaning unsteadily against the tree he'd been resting against and puling her to her feet beside him. Even with the rain falling around them he heard her gasp of pain, and knew that the leg he'd healed wasn't strong enough to support her weight. The bone was healed, but the ligaments and tendons had been bruised as well, and he hadn't been able to take care of everything. And what he had taken care of wasn't enough to get her on her feet.

"Here…"

Summoning all the strength he could, he picked her up.

"Put your arms around my neck, okay?"

"It's bloody."

"Just do it, Libby."

Jesus.

With her arms around him, at least some of her weight was being supported by her, which conserved a little of his own energy. He shined the light back the way he'd fallen, and saw what looked like a mudslide in front of them.

"Fuck."

There was no way he was going to be able to carry her up that, and no way he was going to be able to take her the long way around.

It was a measure of just how miserable she was that Libby didn't even comment on the bad word. She just trembled and held him even tighter.

"Hold on, kid," Ian said, reacting automatically to her response by hugging her a little closer. "I'll get you out of here. Okay?"

She nodded, and he sighed, shining the light up the mudslide. A little to the right of where he'd fallen, there were some roots and branches exposed. Maybe he could use those to climb up.

"One way to find out…"

Shifting Libby so that she was on his back, piggyback style, he reached for the closest branch and shoved his sneaker into the mud, searching for a purchase. Then, once he was relatively certain he had one, he pulled himself up, using the branch to hold their weight. Amazingly enough, it did.

OOOOOOOOOO

"So you think Ian's down in the wash out?"

Shawn shrugged, looking at the other counselors and then at Gary.

"He has to be. He's not anywhere else, and he told me to meet him at the campfire."

"Maybe he went back to bed," Hank said, sarcastically. He was cold and miserable, and just a bit pissed off that Ian had the audacity to come up missing when they were supposed to be looking for the little girl.

Shawn scowled.

"He didn't go back to _bed_, Hank. I almost fell down that washout, and the only thing that stopped me was that I managed to grab a branch. Ian probably did the same thing."

"Maybe Libby did, too," Ann said, hopefully.

"It's worth checking out," Gary said.

"Definitely," Kelly agreed.

As a group – and with several more flashlights than Shawn had alone – they headed for the campfire trail, following Shawn, who had to search a bit to find the spot where he'd left the trail to go through the brush when he'd been looking for Ian.

"It's over here somewhere," he said, pushing aside a couple of branches and taking a couple of steps into the darkness. "I-"

Yet again the ground under his feet crumbled, and this time when Shawn reached out to catch a branch all he managed to grab was a handful of leaves. He felt himself slipping, and as he started to fall he heard Gary yell his name. And that was it. He tumbled, grabbing for branches and roots and missing, and suddenly crashing into something that grunted, swore, and then fell the rest of the way down the hill with him.

"Jesus Christ…" the voice was tired, pained, and even muffled by the mud they were all sprawled in; he could hear it was disgusted. He recognized it immediately, even in the dark. There was no mistaking that drawl.

"Ian?"

"_Damn_ it, Adams."

"I'm glad to see you, too…"

And definitely glad to see the little girl who was clinging to his back.

"Shawn?"

A half dozen lights shined down from above, although the beams weren't strong enough to really let him see much.

"They're down here!" Shawn called. "Get some ropes."


	58. 58

"Who's with you, Shawn?" Ian asked, still out of sorts at being knocked back down to the bottom of the hill he'd been working so hard to climb up, but tired and miserable enough that he was glad to see him. Even more glad to hear Shawn yelling at people – presumably backup – which meant that they'd have help getting out.

"Everyone," Shawn answered, shining his light on Libby, who was muddy and bloody, but didn't look too worse for having taken two tumbles that night. "How are you, Libby? You okay?"

The little girl was beyond tears, really, or she'd have been bawling. Shock and just plain having too much thrust at her all at once was keeping her quiet, and she clung to Ian like she didn't plan on ever letting him go – even though he was just as bloody and muddy as she was.

"I want my mom…"

"How about we get you to the nurse, first?" Shawn said, reaching his hand out and pushing her muddy blonde hair out of her face.

She nodded.

Ian sighed closing his eyes tiredly, and leaned back against a tree trunk – the same tree trunk he'd crashed into in the first place, although this time he'd managed to miss it – and Libby climbed into his lap without asking or waiting for an invitation. He didn't mind. She was warmer than he was, and he was cold enough to appreciate any warmth he could leech.

Shawn started to stand up, and winced, falling back to the ground with a gasp of pain that made Ian open his eyes.

"What's up?"

"Must have hurt it when I slipped," Shawn said, rubbing his ankle tenderly. It hurt a lot worse than he wanted to admit – especially since the other two looked downright awful and he didn't.

"Let me see it…"

Ian reached a hand towards him, but closed his eyes again, dropping it at his side. He was too tired to do anything else just then, and Shawn wasn't going to die if he waited. As the first rustling from above them indicated help was on the way down, Ian had had enough. He let himself drift off, the slight weight of the girl in his lap comforting and the pounding rain not enough to keep him from sleep.

OOOOOOOO

The phone rang, waking Jack and Sam both on the very first ring. Normally, he might not have opened his eyes until at least the third or fourth ring, but there was a baby in the house, now, and he and Sam were both very much attuned to any noises that weren't normal – and even a normal one like the phone ringing was enough to wake them now. The joys of parenthood.

It rang again, and Jack reached over without lifting his head and grabbed it.

"Yeah?"

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

He knew that voice. Didn't he?

"This is Gary Hines. From Camp Millcreek."

That was the voice. Jack sat up, suddenly, looking at his watch. It was after 2AM. Which meant that something was going on, because no one _ever_ called at 2 just to say hello.

"Gary? What's up?"

"Well, we have a problem…"

Sam rolled over, wincing when she tweaked her injured leg.

"Gary?" she asked. "Gary who?"

"Gary from camp," Jack said, softly. Then he turned his attention back to the phone. "What kind of problem, Gary? Is it Shawn?"

"Partially. There's been an accident."

"Shawn's hurt?"

Now Jack was wide awake, and Sam was sitting up as well, her head close to the phone as she tried to listen in.

"Yeah, but it's not serious, so don't panic. He just managed to break his ankle."

"What?"

"Don't panic, Jack," Gary repeated, jumping into Camp Director mode and trying to calm a worried parent. "He's fine. They're finishing with him right now, and then I'll have him call you."

"What happened?"

"Well, that's sort of a long story, and we're not exactly sure of all of it. I'll have Shawn tell you when he calls you. Right now, what I really need is a number where I can get hold of Ian Brooks' parents, or whoever his emergency contact people are. We don't have anything on record, so I figured I'd ask you."

"What? Why?"

"Unfortunately, he's been hurt as well."

"What? How? In the same accident?"

"Is he all right?" Sam asked.

Gary hesitated.

"The doctor I talked to said he'll be okay. But he's unconscious right now, and they seem to be worried by the fact that he's not waking up."

Didn't _that_ sound familiar?

"Don't let the doctors give him anything to try and wake him up, Gary," Jack said. That much he knew, and the rest Janet Fraiser could take care of.

"What? Why not?"

"He's allergic to something – but I don't know what it is," Jack lied. Sam was impressed by how quickly he came up with it. "Where is he?"

"At the clinic in Lakespur. If he doesn't wake up, the doctor is talking about sending him up to Castlerock to a bigger hospital."

"Is he in danger?"

"I don't know, Jack. I'm not a doctor."

"Where are _you_?"

"At the clinic."

"Just keep Ian there. We'll be there in a couple of hours."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. And don't let them give him anything, no matter what they say."

It wasn't common knowledge that Ian had arrested when Janet had tried to force him awake with a shot of adrenaline, but Jack knew about it, and he wasn't going to let it happen with an unknown doctor.

"Okay, Jack. I'll be waiting."

"Thanks, Gary."

Jack hung up the phone, and rolled out of bed. This wasn't something he needed to discuss with Sam, because he knew that she'd want to go and check on Ian as well. Even if she was fairly well battered herself. There was no way she'd allow him to leave her behind – and he had no intention of doing it, at any rate.

"I'll call Janet, you get Jake ready to go." He frowned, looking down at her wrapped leg. "Scratch that. _You_ call Janet, and I'll get Jake ready."

Sam nodded, and reached for the phone.


	59. 59

Shawn was dozing in a comfortable chair in the waiting room of the clinic when the sudden rush of activity at the door woke him and turned his attention that direction. By the time his eyes were open and he was seeing straight, he was already being swarmed by Jaffer, who was licking him, whuffling his face and neck, and wagging his tail so hard it was thumping against the chair next to Shawn's like a big bass drum.

Jack and the others weren't far behind the lab, and a moment later Shawn found himself in the careful scrutiny of three pairs of worried eyes. And was touched, but also a little annoyed. It was, after all, only a broken ankle.

"I'm okay." He said, quickly.

"You're sure?" Jack asked, looking down at the cast on Shawn's ankle, which Jaffer was now sniffing cautiously. Aside from the cast and a couple of bruises, Shawn looked okay to him – he'd even managed to get a tan – but Jack was under the belief that it never hurt to make sure.

Shawn nodded.

"I'm fine."

Jack hesitated, as if he wasn't completely certain of that, but he nodded, and helped Sam into the chair beside Shawn.

"What happened to _you_?" Shawn asked, noticing the brace on the leg and the cast on her right hand.

"Don't ask," Sam said, smiling, as she reached out with her good hand and brushed her fingers against his cheek. "You're sure you're okay?"

Shawn nodded again.

"Yeah."

"How's Ian?" Jack asked, taking Jake from Janet who had brought him in from the truck and freeing the doctor to check his son out on her own – just to make _sure_ he was okay.

They knew what had happened. On the drive up they'd spoken to Gary again, Shawn, and the doctor on call at the clinic where Ian, Shawn and Libby had been taken, and had heard as much of the events of the night that the others knew of. Libby was awake and talking, but she hadn't been a lot of help. She only knew that she'd gotten lost in the dark when she went down to the campfire pit to look for Rocky and had fallen. She said – and there was no reason not to believe her – that she didn't remember what happened then, until she woke up with Ian there holding her.

Which had been enough. The doctor at the clinic had given them a list of Ian's injuries once she'd known that they were going to be the cadet's contact people and were already on their way up to the clinic, and while a concussion was a possible reason for the cadet not to be awake yet, Janet was fairly certain that it wasn't what was keeping Ian out. No doubt the girl had been injured when she'd fallen, and Ian had taken steps to deal with those injuries. That was what they were assuming for now, anyways. Janet would be able to confirm it as soon as she had a chance to look things over for herself.

"He's still out," Shawn said. He didn't bother to list the injuries he knew about, since he knew Jack and them had already heard them. "Libby is-"

"Jack!"

Gary Hines appeared from one of the rooms off to the side of the waiting room – the clinic wasn't big, and didn't have a lot of hallways and corridors like hospitals in bigger cities did. With him were two women; one dressed in a white lab jacket – obviously a doctor – and the other wearing slacks and a sweatshirt with Mickey Mouse on it.

Jack reached his hand out and shook the hand Gary offered.

"Gary. It's good to see you again."

"You, too," Gary told him, looking from Jack to the baby tucked in his arm. "Is that _Jacob_?"

Jack smiled, and shifted the infant carefully so Gary could get a better look at him without waking him up.

"Yup."

"He's adorable." The camp director smiled and looked at Sam. And frowned.

"What happened to _you_?" He asked, coming over and leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"She had a run in with a flight of stairs," Jack told him before Sam could blame the broken hand on him.

"Are you okay?" Gary asked, his eyes dark with concern. He'd known Sam a long time, after all – even though he only saw her one week a year.

"I'm fine." Sam assured him. She gestured to Janet, who had been quietly taking Shawn's pulse and checking for fever and any sign that he was more injured than he was letting on. "This is our good friend Janet Fraiser. _Doctor_ Janet Fraiser."

"I've heard a lot about you, Doctor Fraiser," Gary said, taking her hand. "It's a pleasure to actually meet you – although this _isn't_ exactly the way I had hoped to do it…"

"Nice to meet you," Janet said, smiling and turning to be introduced to the other two women. "Please, just call me Janet."

Gary nodded and turned as well.

"This is Mandy Adler, the nurse from Camp Millcreek. Actually, she's a general practitioner, but the title _nurse_ is a lot less daunting than _doctor_, so we call her that at camp. And this is Roberta Kennedy, the doctor in charge of this clinic."

"Doctors, it's nice to meet you both," Janet said, shaking hands with them. They both nodded.

"Call me Mandy," Mandy said. "I assume you'd like to check on Ian?"

Janet nodded.

"I would, yes. And I'd like to see any x-rays you might have taken of the little girl who was injured as well…"

If Kennedy or Adler either thought this was an odd request, neither said anything. Instead, Dr. Kennedy opened one of the doors leading off from the waiting room, and gestured for the other two women to precede her inside.

"Come on, I'll show you around," she said. "I was wondering what Ian is allergic to that prevented me from giving him…"

The voice trailed off as the door closed behind the three women, and Gary looked back at Sam and Jack.

"I'm really sorry to drag you guys out of bed to come up here," he told them.

"It's no big deal," Jack assured him. "I'd definitely rather be here than still asleep and not knowing what was going on."

Sam nodded her agreement. It wasn't the first time they'd ever been dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, after all – and undoubtedly wouldn't be the last.

"We're just glad Shawn and the others are okay."

She reached over and ruffled Shawn's hair, and the young man rolled his eyes, blushing.

"How's camp going?" Jack asked, grinning at the way Shawn reacted to Sam's mothering.

"If it'd ever stop raining it'd be a little better," Gary said.

"They built a lagoon," Shawn said. "And they have a ski boat and a new dock, too."

"Ski boat?" Sam asked, surprised.

Gary nodded, "It's mostly for the older camps, but we thought we'd give it a go. With the lagoon, we can keep the sailing and canoeing out of the wake of the skiers, and we can…" He trailed off. "It's a long story, and I'll tell you it over breakfast. You _are_ going to at least stay for breakfast? Jared would be sorry to miss you if you don't."

Jack looked at his watch. It was barely six AM, and the rain outside was keeping the rising sun from shining through the curtains of the clinic, but it was there nonetheless.

"Of course we are. We'll want to check on Ian, though, before we go to the camp."

Gary nodded. That was fine with him, since he'd want to as well.


	60. 60

_Author's note: This one's a little short, sorry! But there will be more coming, I promise!_

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Fraiser checked on Ian first. He was, after all, the real reason she was there. Not the little girl.

The room she was led to was small, but it was well lit, warm and cozy, and the white walls were softened by several framed pictures hung in different areas. In the center of the little room – which really looked more like it belonged in a bed and breakfast than in a clinic – was the bed that Ian had been put in, and sure enough, the young man was out like a light.

He was on his back – not his natural position, she knew – and had been dressed in a set of white scrubs that only made him look more pale than he already was. Janet could see the bruises on his cheek and chin when she opened the door, but the gash in his forehead that she'd heard about was covered with a bandage. She walked over and looked down at him, with the two doctors beside her.

"These bruises aren't new…" she said, reaching down and touching the bruise above Ian's right eye.

"That one he received playing softball," Mandy explained. "A couple of days ago."

"Ah."

Why didn't _that_ surprise her? After all, Millcreek was like the Bermuda Triangle when it came to sucking in perfectly healthy Air Force personnel and spitting them out battered and bruised, and Ian was simply carrying on a legacy that Jack and Daniel had started years before. Add to it that Shawn had managed to break his ankle – and who knew how many bruises he had under his clothing? – and she had to wonder if River Hayden had managed to make it through the last few days without any injuries. For some reason she doubted that.

"His reflexes are fine," Doctor Kennedy said, handing Janet the x-rays they'd taken. One of his head, one of his chest and one of his leg. "We just can't get him to wake up…"

Janet checked the head film first, holding it up to the light and looking for damage to the skull, although Kennedy seemed to be more than competent enough to check for fractures and the like on her own. She didn't find anything to suggest any damage to Ian's skull or brain, which was a relief. A look at his chest x-ray showed that he hadn't even broken any ribs – although she could see some swelling around individual ribs that suggested there might be a fair amount of strained muscles and probably some heavy bruising. Again, nothing that was life threatening. His leg had taken a beating – the same knee that seemed to bear the brunt of every fall or injury Ian had ever taken was once more swollen and battered, but Janet didn't see any sign of a break or dislocation in the x-ray, so it wasn't going to be the most serious of his injuries.

"Ian's difficult to wake up," Janet acknowledged. "This isn't the first time it's happened…"

"I noticed the scars on his chest," Kennedy said. "Mandy here tells me he was actually attacked by a bear…"

"And shot," Mandy added, more or less hoping that maybe she would have a chance to hear more of the circumstances behind that. Ian had been fairly close-mouthed about that, after all, and it had to be an interesting story.

Janet didn't do anything more than nod, however.

"Yes, he's had his share of serious injuries," she acceded. "But he's a tough kid…"

She reached her hand out and touched his cheek with her fingertips. And he didn't move, which told her that he was out completely. If he'd been anywhere near waking, he would have responded to her touch and most likely moved his head away – at least a little.

"He'll probably be out for a while," she said, checking the bandage on his forehead, and then checking his eyes with a pen light – just to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with his pupils. "It's not dangerous for him, so just allow him to wake up naturally."

"You'll be around?"

She nodded. Like she was going to go anywhere? They had to have someone close by – someone with security clearance – just in case he woke up and started talking. Which wasn't usually an issue with Ian as long as he wasn't given any medication.

"You didn't give him anything?"

Kennedy shook her head.

"Nothing."

"Good." Before she could ask about the supposed allergy that Ian had to medication again, Janet changed the subject. "I'd like to see the little girl's x-rays, please?"

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Shawn was talking to Jack, Sam and Gary when Janet and the others finally made another appearance half an hour later. All of them looked up – except Jake, who was sound asleep once more in his fathers arms – and waited for a prognosis.

"He should be fine," Janet said. "There's nothing seriously wrong with him and Doctor Kennedy is doing a good job getting the swelling down on his leg and head."

"Is he awake?" Sam asked.

"No." Janet smiled, telling them without words that he wasn't asleep due to an injury, but because of another reason entirely – and Jack and Sam were pretty sure they knew what it was, so they didn't ask for any more of an explanation. "He'll probably sleep all day."

"That long?" Gary asked.

"Maybe longer," Janet said.

"Can we see him?" Jack asked.

She nodded.

"As long as you don't try to wake him up."

Jack and Sam both headed for the door – Sam a bit more awkwardly than Jack, and Jaffer close on their heels, although he was making sure to keep a fair distance from Sam so she wouldn't trip over him. Fraiser looked at the two doctors, apologetically.

"I'm not here to take over, really," she explained as Shawn and Gary both got up and headed for the room that Ian was in as well – although they'd wait their turn. "It's just that Ian is privy to some classified materials, and we have to make sure that when someone in that kind of situation is injured that they don't start spilling secrets they shouldn't."

"I understand," Doctor Kennedy said, nodding. "Are you going to be staying here, then?"

Janet nodded.

"If you don't mind."

"Not at all. Mandy needs to get back to the camp, and I can always use company." She smiled. "I'll even feed you breakfast."


	61. 61

_Author's Note: This chapter is sort of transitional – and might be a little boring because of it. But now we have all the characters together again, so we can start having fun with them!_

OOOOOOOOO

"Well, _he_ looks like crap."

Sam nodded; hobbling up to the bed that Ian was in. He did look like crap, but she'd seen him looking much worse, and she at least knew why he was asleep, which made her worry less. Sitting down in the space beside him, she reached out and touched his cheek, careful to avoid the bruises.

"You're going to have to make it up to him."

"Me?" Jack came over and looked down at the sleeping cadet as well, Jacob suddenly awake and restless in his arms. "I didn't do it."

"You're the reason he was sent to camp in the first place."

"You told me that he should go…"

"I didn't mean it, though."

Jake stretched a hand idly towards Ian, while Jaffer jumped up onto the foot of the bed, and Jack shifted his grip on their son to make sure he didn't squirm out of his grasp. He wasn't all that big yet, but he wriggled a lot sometimes.

Since it was a conversation they'd already had – and one that he wouldn't win – Jack just shrugged. He'd figure out something.

"We'd better get going."

They'd need to get to camp and settle Shawn – and maybe get some breakfast, because Jack was pretty hungry.

Sam nodded. It wasn't like Ian was going to wake up any time soon, after all, and if he did, Janet had already said she was going to stay and keep an eye on him so someone would be there.

"Are you hungry?"

"I could eat."

OOOOOOOOOOO

It was half past seven when they drove into the camp parking lot. Jack, Sam, Jacob and Jaffer in the truck, and Gary, Shawn and Mandy in the car behind them.

"Are you two planning on leaving any time soon?" Gary asked, as Jack helped Sam out of the truck and Mandy helped Shawn, who was having an awkward time with the crutches Doctor Kennedy had given him.

"No necessarily," Jack said, looking at Sam for confirmation. "Why?"

"Because with Shawn hurt and Ian out of commission entirely, I'm short handed for the guy counselors."

"And you're looking for a volunteer…"

"Yup."

"Sam would be happy to."

Gary smiled.

"He'd _love_ to volunteer, Gary," Sam said, shaking her head, amused. They'd already discussed this on the way up to camp – and had called and let the OD at the base know that they needed Hammond to call them when he came in the next morning so they could let him know what was going on.

"We'll put you and Jacob up in one of the guest rooms, Sam," Gary told her.

"Or she can bunk with me," Mandy said, smiling. "I'd love the company, and it's been a long time since I've had a little one around to rock to sleep."

"Sounds great," Sam said. "Thanks."

"Shawn told me on the way here that he thinks he'll be able to keep counseling – with a few limitations, of course, so between the three of you, the boys should be okay."

"Am _I_ keeping Jaffer?" Sam asked Jack, looking down at the lab, who was sniffing Shawn's cast once more."

"It might not be a bad idea," Jack told her. "He'd be fine with the kids, and can hang out with them by day – but I don't want to listen to whining and arguments about who gets to sleep with him at night."

Jack had done the counselor thing enough times, now, to know how it worked – although he'd never counseled the little kids.

"And besides, if you need anything, he can come get me."

She rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything.

"We're going to need some clothes and things…"

"We'll work it out."

They had stuff for Jake in his diaper bag, and that was enough for now.

With the counselor problem solved, Gary looked at his watch.

"The wake up bell should have rang half an hour ago, and the breakfast bell will be in about fifteen minutes. Why don't you head up to the cabin and meet the boys with Shawn, and Mandy and I will help Sam get settled. We'll meet you in the cafeteria for breakfast."

"Sounds great," Sam said, before Jack could reply – although she knew he wouldn't have any objections. She wanted to get out of the rain.

"We'll see you there," Jack said. Then he looked at Shawn. "Do I need to carry you up that hill, or do you think you can make it on your own?"

Shawn snorted, and shook his head, amused – and pleased that Jack and Sam were going to stick around.

"I think I can manage."

"We wouldn't want you to fall and roll down the hill…"

"I won't."

"It's pretty steep."

"It's not that bad."

"But if you-"

"Sam..."

"Jack."

"What?" He flashed her an innocent look, but the gleam of good humor in his brown eyes told her he was well aware he was teasing Shawn. It was just too much fun to resist, though.

Mandy smiled. She didn't know Jack _or_ Sam, but they seemed like very nice people. Her kind of people.

"Come on, Sam," she said, reaching into the truck and taking the diaper bag. "Let's get you out of this rain."

"I get to carry Jacob," Gary said, before Sam could say she could do it. She _couldn't_, of course. Not with her crutches. But she might have tried anyways. Besides, he wanted to have a chance to see the newest O'Neill close up and personal.

Confident that Sam and Jake were in good hands – and with Jaffer – Jack slapped Shawn's shoulder.

"Let's go meet your kids."


	62. 62

"Australia, huh?"

Shawn nodded as they approached the cabin.

"I guess they have to change the names eventually…"

It wasn't like this was the same cabin that they normally had – which had once been called China.

"Yeah… I guess…"

Jack wasn't so pleased. He had had a lot of changes in his life and didn't like this one – even though it was a little one and had nothing to do with life and death. The world was made up of little things, after all.

Shawn started to reach for the door, but it was thrown open and River looked at both of them, grinning cheerfully.

"Colonel O'Neill! Good to see you, sir."

Jack offered River his hand.

"You, too, River."

"How's the ankle, Shawn?"

"Broken."

"Aw, that sucks. What about Ian?"

"He's still out. Jack's going to take his place as counselor."

"Really? Sweet."

A half-dozen faces were suddenly gathered around River, peeking out the door. All of them lit up when they saw Shawn, but clouded a little when they saw Jack.

"Where's Ian, Shawn?"

Shawn moved into the cabin awkwardly, the kids and River making room for him and Jack both.

"He's still at the clinic, Chance."

"How come?"

Shawn wasn't so great with kids, but he was smart enough to keep from worrying the kids with the absolute truth.

"They're just making sure he's okay. Libby's still there, too. They're fine though."

"Is he coming back?"

"Sure." Shawn wasn't absolutely positive that he was, but he wasn't going to say otherwise, especially when he saw Sammy sitting forlornly on Ian's bed, looking at him and Jack with big worried eyes.

"Who's this?" Chance asked, looking up at Jack.

Shawn grinned.

"This is my dad. Jack."

Now the suspicious looks turned interested.

"Really?"

"Yup. He's going to be helping us until Ian comes back. Okay?"

There were assorted murmurs of agreement – although the kids still hung back a little. River was quick enough with kids, though, to recognize that they still weren't certain – and more importantly he knew exactly what to say to draw the boys' interest in Jack.

"Jack here works with Ian in the Air Force."

Jack tossed River an unreadable look, but when the kids turned to him with even more interest in their expressions, he had to admit that River's statement was exactly what was needed.

"Really?"

Jack nodded.

"Yup."

"You're in the Air Force?"

"Yup."

"Aren't you too _old_ to be in the Air Force?"

Shawn grinned, wishing Sam had heard that particular question, and it was River who answered before Jack could.

"Jack's not old. He's _seasoned_."

"What does that mean?" Brian asked.

"It means that he's experienced," River said. "Who do you think teaches all the younger people like us how to be good Air Force officers?"

"I don't know…"

"People like Jack do."

"So you're teaching Ian?" Wilson asked.

Jack nodded.

"What are you teaching him?" Chad asked.

"Air Force stuff," Jack answered, evasively.

"Like how to fly?" Chance asked.

"No. Not that."

"I thought everyone in the Air Force can fly."

"Jack can fly," River said. "Ian just doesn't want to learn that, so Jack's not teaching him that. He's learning other things, though. Things that-"

They were interrupted by the bell ringing.

"Breakfast time, guys," Shawn said. "We can finish interrogating Jack later, okay?"

"Okay!"

They were all hungry, and had been given enough information about Jack that they were satisfied that he was okay – all except for Sammy, who hadn't moved from his position on Ian's bed. As the boys rushed for the door, Jack and Shawn both turned towards the little boy.

"What's wrong, Sammy?" Shawn asked.

The boy shook his head, looking down at his hands.

"Sammy?"

Shawn hobbled over and reached up to touch his leg, causing Sammy to look at him.

"Ian's dead, isn't he?"

Shawn shook his head, surprised at the question.

"Of course he isn't."

"Then why isn't he here?"

"Because they want to make sure he's okay," Shawn said, reaching up and running his hand through Sammy's hair. "You know how sore he was when his horse fought with River's horse, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, he's bruised like that – and he bumped his head. They just want to make sure that his head is okay before they let him come back. He's definitely not dead."

"Promise?"

Shawn nodded.

"Yes. He'll be back before you know it." And he _would_, too. Even if Shawn had to drag him in by his toenails.

"Okay…"

"Let's go get some breakfast, Sammy," Shawn told him, moving out of the way so the boy could get down from Ian's bed – although it was Jack who reached out a steadying hand to him when he looked like he was stuck getting down.

"Okay."

Sammy headed for the door, obviously reassured about Ian's health after talking to Shawn, and Jack looked over at his son, impressed.

"Good job, Shawn."

Shawn nodded.

"Sammy's an odd kid, Jack, but he's stuck on Ian – and _probably_ the reason Ian hasn't spontaneously combusted yet."

"Maybe we should take him home with us," Jack suggested as they headed out into the rain once more to go towards the cafeteria.

"I didn't say Ian likes Sammy all that much…"

Jack smiled, and ruffled Shawn's hair, careful not to knock him over or put him off balance.

"You might be surprised, Shawn."

Uh huh.

OOOOOOO

"How old is he?"

Sam smiled down at Jake, who had once more fallen asleep.

"About four months."

"Really?"

She nodded.

"He was born March 23rd. He wasn't due until May."

"He's a preemie?"

Sam nodded again, and Mandy looked at the baby, shaking her head.

"He's big for being a preemie."

"I know. He also managed to avoid all the typical health problems that preemies have." She wasn't going to go into any reasons for any of that, though. "We got lucky."

"Yeah, you did."

Sam and Mandy – and Jaffer and Jake, of course – were in the bedroom area of the nurse's cabin, settling Sam and Jake into their temporary room. The bedroom area held two beds – all the guest cabins did – so it was simply a matter of showing Sam where everything was, and then giving her a chance to change and feed Jake before breakfast.

Jaffer watched everything from his position on the bed beside Sam, and Mandy couldn't help but sit down as well, running her hand along his silky – and slightly damp – black fur.

"How long have you and-"

The breakfast bell rang, interrupting, and Mandy made a face, but then smiled.

"Come on. I'll carry him for you, if you don't mind?"

Sam shook her head. There wasn't any way she was going to be able to carry him – she already knew that – and Mandy had already told her that she had kids, which meant she had even more experience with babies than Sam did.

"I'd appreciate that, thanks."

Mandy smiled.

"Let's go see how Jack is doing with the boys."


	63. 63

"Jack!"

Danin rushed over and threw her arms around Jack almost before he realized what was going on, and Jack grinned down at the little girl who had grown into a lovely young woman – and when had _that_ happened?

"Hey, Danin. How are you?"

"Great."

Danin was grinning up at him, and jack could see that all the other counselors and campers gathered in the room were watching the reunion.

"You _look_ great, sweetheart."

She beamed.

"Where's Sam?"

"She's co-"

Danin's gaze went behind Jack and her eyes lit up.

"_Sam_!"

She squealed, letting go of Jack and rushing past him. He didn't even have to turn to know that Sam had made her appearance in the cafeteria. It was confirmed a moment later when there was an excited murmuring in the room from the rest of the campers, and Jack turned. Sure enough Sam was hobbling towards one of the tables greeting Danin with a hug and a smile, with Mandy carrying Jake and walking behind her.

That wasn't what had garnered the attention of the other campers, though. Jaffer was. The big lab was walking beside Sam like a shadow, and every kid in the room was straining their necks to get a good look at him.

"Wow…"

Gary took that moment to come into the room as well, and he waved all the kids into their seats, smiling at Danin and shooing her back to her table.

"Good morning, Campers!"

"Good morning!"

"I have a couple of announcements to make before we eat breakfast, you guys. Since you all know what happened last night, let me give you an update on what's going on. Libby is fine. She just has some cuts, and she was a little cold, but she's going to be fine."

He smiled at the kids reassuringly, glad that he didn't have any bad news to give them. Things could have been so much worse. He continued.

"Ian's fine, too, guys. He should be back with us really soon, and until he is, we're fortunate enough to have someone here willing to take over for him. Jack?"

Jack hadn't made it to his seat, yet. He'd gone over to situate Sam and make sure she didn't need him before joining the boys from Australia. When Gary called his name, he turned to face the rest of the camp.

"This is Colonel Jack O'Neill, guys," Gary said. "He's been counseling here for several years – although he usually counsels the older camps. Over there is his wife – Major Samantha O'Neill, and their son Jacob. They're going to be with us for a while, so get to know them during free time."

Gary smiled, because while the kids were obviously interested in Sam and Jack – and Jacob – they were still looking at Jaffer more than anything else. Big shock there, since Jaffer was hard to miss – and was far more interesting than Jack and Sam combined.

"That's Jaffer," he said, drawing the lab's attention when he said his name. "He's Jack's dog, and will be joining us as well, so if he comes up to you just tell him hi."

Jaffer walked over and sat down beside Sam's chair, whuffling her injured leg and ignoring the attention of the kids for the moment. Which made them lose interest in him a little once Gary started speaking once more.

"Since it's still raining, we're going to have camp activities in the gym after breakfast, but I have it on the best authority that the rain should stop by tonight, and we'll be drying out by tomorrow."

There were cheers in response to this, and Gary smiled.

"Let's eat!"

OOOOOOOOO

"You're _really_ a Colonel?"

Jack nodded, stealing a slice of bacon from Shawn's plate and looking at Chance.

"Yup."

"_Really_?"

"Yup."

"Does that outrank your wife?" Chad asked, looking over at Sam, who was talking to Gary and Mandy while holding Jake in one hand and eating with the other.

Jack smiled.

"It does, but don't tell her I said that."

"She doesn't _know_?" Wilson asked.

"Of course she knows. But it's a little different when you're married."

"Does she outrank Ian?" Bruce asked.

"Oh yeah. _And_ she's one of his teachers – even though she doesn't teach at the academy."

"Really?"

Jack nodded.

"She must be pretty smart, then," Chance said, looking impressed.

"She's the smartest person I've ever met," Jack assured them.

"Does _she_ have a dog, too?" Chad asked, looking over at Jaffer, who was sprawled under the table by Sam's feet gnawing on a bone that Jared had furnished from the kitchen.

"She has Jaffer."

"He's _your_ dog, though," Bruce objected, amazed that Jack would share his dog with someone else. Especially a _girl_.

"He's _our_ dog," Jack corrected. "And he loves Sam very much."

"Sam?"

"That's what Jack calls her," Shawn explained. He'd been enjoying the way the kids were interrogating Jack – it was a good way for them to get to know him better, and it was a good way to get more comfortable with him. And a good way for him to get to know them better as well. Besides, it was fun for Shawn to see Jack be the center of attention – even if it cost him a slice of bacon or two.

"It's what _you_ guys can call her, too," Jack said.

"Really?"

"Why not?"

They didn't have an answer for that, and Chance – ever the outgoing socialite – looked over at Sam's table.

"Sam!"

She turned and looked at the sound of someone calling her name, and Chance waved frantically at her, grinning his infectious smile. One that Sam wasn't any more immune to than anyone else. She waved back, smiling, and then turned back to her breakfast and the conversation she'd been having with Gary.

Chance looked at the others, preening.

"Sam!"

This time it was Wilson, intent on showing the others that anything Chance could do, he could do, too.

Again, Sam turned at the sound of her name, and this time it was Wilson who waved at her.

She waved back, grinning, and gave Jack a curious look. He shrugged, silently telling her that he had nothing to do with it, and she once more returned to her conversation, which apparently was centered around Jacob, considering the way Gary kept gesturing to the baby.

Chad opened his mouth, and Jack held up his hand, his brown eyes amused.

"Let her eat, guys. She'll talk to you all later if you want."


	64. 64

_Author's Note: Just a quick response to a question in a review. I was going to write an Asgard story, but I let there be a vote between those who wanted an Asgard story, and those who wanted a new at camp story, and the camp story won. The Asgard story will be next in line!_

OOOOOOOOOOO

Breakfast was almost over when Gary moved from his seat to stand in front of the group once more. The kids noticed immediately, and Chance, who was sitting beside Jack, nudged him to get his attention.

"Gary's going to do announcements," the boy told Jack, gesturing that direction.

"Thanks," Jack said, setting down his coffee cup.

Shawn smiled.

"How was breakfast?" Gary asked, well aware that he didn't have to ask for attention since everyone was already looking his direction.

There were assorted shouts in reply – most were _yummy_ or _good_ or just shouts to be heard – and Gary let them shout for a minute before holding up his hands for silence.

"Good. When we're done eating, I want you all to head for the gym. Okay?"

The kids shouted again, this time yelling their assurances that they'd head directly to the gym when they were done.

"What are we going to play?" Chad asked Jack.

"I'm not sure."

"Gary didn't tell you?"

Since Jack had been sitting beside the boy the entire meal, he wasn't sure when exactly Gary was supposed to have told him anything. He didn't say that, though. He just shook his head.

"Nope." He looked over at Sam; saw that she had handed a sleeping Jacob off to one of the staff members who was cooing over the baby with a goofy look on his face. "Maybe he told Sam, though…"

Every head at the table followed his gaze, and Jack suppressed his amused smile. As if she sensed them all looking at her, Sam turned just then, and met the gaze of the Australian boys and their counselors.

The boys waved.

Shawn and River grinned.

Sam waved back, obviously amused, even though she didn't have a clue what had grabbed the boys' attention and held it. They weren't looking at Jaffer – which wouldn't have surprised her. They were looking at her. And even from several table lengths away, she could see the amusement in Jack's expression.

"Go distract them for me, Jaffer," she said, nudging the lab with the foot he'd been sprawled on to let him know it was okay for him to go.

Jaffer wagged his tail and got to his feet, trotting over to Jack and drawing the attention of not only the boys of Australia, but also the entire room. Now the kids from Australia were in the spotlight, and they didn't mind at all. Jaffer came directly to Jack, but he didn't mind at all when Chance leaned over and almost fell out of his seat to pet the black lab's silky fur.

"Are we done?" Shawn asked the boys, drawing their attention to the fact that they had other things to do that morning besides gawk at Jaffer.

The boys nodded, and started stacking their dishes, while Jack handed down leftover bacon from his plate.

"Let's go, guys," River said, standing up and gesturing for the boys to do the same.

Excited to see what they were going to be doing next, the boys headed for the door that led to the stairs that in turn led to the gym.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked, coming up beside Jack, Jacob once more in her arms – although the baby was still asleep.

"What?"

"All the looking."

"What looking?" Jack asked innocently. "I don't know why you're so wary, Sam."

"Jack…"

He smiled.

"Are you coming down to play games with us?"

"I'm going to call Janet and get an update on Ian. Then I might come take a peek at what you're doing."

"Take Jaffer with you, will you? I don't want him to distract things just yet."

"Sure."

OOOOOOOOO

There were chairs stacked against the side wall of the gym when the kids entered, and Gary waited until all of them were there and paying attention before he spoke up.

"Everyone grab a chair and get into a circle," Gary said, gesturing to the middle of the gym floor.

With the help of counselors and a lot of noise, the kids obeyed, and Gary went into the middle of the circle, watching them all with an amused smile as they watched him expectantly.

"Okay. You guys remember the fruit basket game we played?"

There were shouts of yes.

"Good. This game is a little like that – but only because eventually you're going to end up looking for a new spot – and there's going to be one chair less than there are people. For right now, though, I'm going to name each of you with a different car part, okay? So pay attention to what you are."

He started at Jack, pointing, and worked his way down, alternating.

"Brakes. Gas Pedal. Steering wheel."

When he was finished, he was back in front of Jack.

"Everyone remember what you are?"

Again there were shouts to the affirmative.

"Okay. Now… I'm going to start telling you a story about a guy on a trip. When I mention things about the car, it's your jobs to add in the sound effects. Like if I mention he's speeding up, those of you who are the gas pedal have to make accelerating noises, like '_vroooom'_! And if I mention he's turning the car, those of you who are steering wheels make turning noises, like '_uuuuurrrr'_! And if he's stopping the car or slamming on the brakes, those of you who are brakes will do what?"

There were a large number of braking noises all of the sudden, as everyone who was a brake demonstrated.

Gary grinned.

"Exactly. Now; every trip is not without its hazards. If I decide at some point that he's going to get a flat tire, I'm going to yell 'blow out!'. If I do that, everyone has to move and find a new seat – although you still stay as whatever car part you are. The person who doesn't get a new seat is it, and has to continue with the story, until our unfortunate driver has another blowout and everyone scrambles for a seat again. Get it?"

There were murmurs of excitement and nods. This was going to be fun!

"Okay. Let's get started."

The kids moved to the edges of their seats as Gary started the story.

"Once upon a time there was a guy named Gary…"

The campers laughed, but were still tense.

"And Gary decided to go to camp to be with his friends. So he got into his car, and started the engine…"

Gary looked at the campers, expectantly, and those who were Gas Pedals made revving noises like they were starting the engine.

"Good!" Gary said, beaming. "So Gary started off to camp. First he turned left…"

"_Urrrrrrrrr_!"

He grinned.

"And then he turned right…"

"_Urrrrrrrrrrr_!"

"And then he sped up!"

"_Vrroooooooooom_!"

"And then he was coming along a mountain road and a deer jumped out in front of his car so he had to slam on the brakes!"

"_Urrrrrrchhhhhh_!"

The kids all laughed, thoroughly enjoying this.

Gary grinned again, already looking for the seat he was going to take once he got all the kids to move.

"Unfortunately, he slammed on the brakes so hard, he… had… _A_ _BLOWOUT_!"

The kids screamed, and scrambled for new seats in a flurry of activity that had them bouncing off each other and tangling feet with each other, and laughing and yelling and jumping to new chairs. When the proverbial smoke cleared, it was Jack O'Neill who was standing in the middle without a new chair.

Bah.

The kids laughed, and Jack smiled. He was far too good at this to be annoyed, after all – and he knew he'd be able to at least show some of the others how to continue the story.

"So… Gary fixed his flat tire…" Jack said, continuing the story as soon as the kids were quiet enough to listen. "And then he started the car again."

"_Vrooooom_!"

"And he started driving down the road…"


	65. 65

When Sam finally entered the gym – about an hour after breakfast had ended – she found the campers in three groups running around the gym chasing each other in some kind odd game of tag that involved all sorts of car sound effects. Shawn, with his broken ankle, was off to one side of the out of bounds lines, safely away from the running and sometimes tumbling children and campers.

Shawn looked up when Sam came over to sit beside him. She was baby-less and Jaffer-less, and he decided that she looked as tired as she felt, even though she smiled when she joined him.

"They're not going to let you play?" She asked, feigning surprise.

He shook his head, echoing her smile.

"I feel like Rudolph."

She chuckled.

"How does the ankle feel?"

"It's numb. Did you talk to Doctor Fraiser?"

Sam nodded.

"Libby's folks are at the clinic, and Janet said that they want to take her home, but that she wants to come back and finish camp."

"Are they going to let her?"

"Maybe. If Janet and Doctor Kennedy convince them that she's healthy – which Janet says she is – and if Libby can convince a worried mother to leave her little girl."

"You don't sound convinced that she'll be able to."

Sam shrugged.

"I wouldn't be able to leave Jacob if something like that happened. I probably wouldn't let him out of my sight for years."

It was Shawn's turn to smile. Sam in protective mother mode was a new side of her. Instead of teasing her about it, though, he switched topics.

"Did you hear anything on Ian?"

"He's still out. Probably will be for the rest of the day, I imagine, if we go by what we've seen before in these situations."

Shawn frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"The other times this kind of thing has happened…" Sam said, confused by his question. "Like when you and River were hurt."

She didn't see the light of understanding dawn in his expression like she'd expected to, and Sam frowned as well.

"Ian hasn't told you about his…"

She trailed off, realizing that they weren't in a secured area, and the topic of conversation was classified. Even to Shawn, since it was obvious that he didn't know.

"Told me what, Sam?" Shawn asked, pressing.

"Never mind, Shawn. I shouldn't have brought it up."

Especially in a gym filled with screaming kids. She'd just assumed Shawn knew. Of course, now that she thought about it, she supposed that Ian wouldn't really have wanted to spout off about what was going on – especially to Shawn, who was still fresh from losing his mother. A mother who had the same abilities. As guilty as Ian felt about that loss – and Sam knew that he still blamed himself – there was no way he'd bring that subject up and remind Shawn of what he'd lost.

"Sam…" Shawn had the same expression on his face that Jack often wore when he was ready to become difficult.

"I'm sorry, Shawn, I shouldn't have said anything."

"But-"

"Hey!"

They both looked up to see that Jack had joined them, panting from running at full bore with the kids, but smiling nonetheless.

Sam smiled, too.

"Having fun?"

"Of _course_." She knew he liked kids, and running from a kid is a lot more fun than running from a Jaffa hell-bent on killing you or taking you captive. "What's the word on Ian?"

"He's still out, but Janet expects him to wake up sometime tonight or maybe tomorrow early."

"Physical injuries?"

"A slight chill, a lot of bruising and abrasions – and a solid whack to the head – but she's pretty sure he's fine."

"Good."

"Vrooooooom!"

Four small boys came rushing up to Jack, all making the sound of a car accelerating. One of them tagged him by slapping him on the rear.

"Tag, Jack!"

"Arghhhh!" Jack made a show of being distraught at being captured, causing Shawn and Sam to both smile – even though Shawn was annoyed that he hadn't had a chance to ask Jack about Ian before they'd been interrupted. "You got me!"

Three of the boys dragged Jack off to join the rest of their group, but the third one stopped to crouch down beside Shawn, looking at the cast on his ankle.

"Does your leg hurt, Shawn?"

He shook his head.

"No, Sammy. It's fine."

Sam smiled at the little boy.

"Your name is _Sammy_?"

Sammy nodded, looking from Shawn's cast to Sam.

"Mine is, too."

"I know," Sammy said. "Jack told me."

"Sammy is worried about Ian," Shawn said, resisting the urge to ask Sam about Ian once more and instead focusing on the fact that Sam could do a lot to alleviate the concern in the little boy's expression. "Since you just talked to the doctors, Sam, maybe you could tell him how Ian's doing?"

"Of course." She gestured for the little boy to sit next to her and Shawn was surprised that Sammy went so willingly. It was probably a sign of how much he wanted to hear about Ian.

"Is he really okay?" Sammy asked, confirming Shawn's conclusion.

Sam nodded, affecting that calming aura that she did so well – and one that Shawn had practically grown up around. He was surprised when he felt a little stab of jealousy as Sam put an arm around Sammy's bony shoulder and hugged him close. Jealousy that he immediately shrugged off, wondering when he'd decided that Sam was his and Jake's alone.

"He's _fine_, sweetheart. I just spoke with the doctors that are with him, and they say he should be up and around by tomorrow morning."

Sammy looked up at her; his eyes so big and hopeful that she couldn't help but feel her heart melt.

"And then he'll be back?"

What else could she say? Sam nodded.

"Yes, honey. I'm sure he will."

Which of course, meant she might need to go and have a chat with Ian once he woke up to convince him to come back.


	66. 66

A gentle touch brought Ian out of his slumber. Not much, just enough that he was aware of what was going on around him. And aware enough that he could feel every ache and pain, but could also feel the softness of the pillow under his throbbing head, and the weight of the blankets covering him. He moved his head, slightly, uncertain what was going on, and forced his eyes open to find out.

And found Janet Fraiser hovering over him, her hand close to his cheek but not touching him now – even though he knew she had to be the one who had woken him. She smiled when she saw his eyes open. It was one of the very few moments he was completely off guard, after all.

"Good morning…"

He frowned, obviously trying to figure out what was going on. And started shivering almost imperceptibly. _Janet_ noticed immediately of course.

"What are you doing here?"

His voice sounded tired and weak, and she wasn't sure if the sudden squint in his eyes was from the light in the room or pain. She reached over and shaded his eyes from the overhead light.

"Just slumming."

He actually gave her a weak smile at that, and Janet's smile broadened.

"How do you feel?"

"I'm cold."

"Do you hurt?"

"Yeah. But I'm cold."

Since he'd mentioned it twice when he obviously felt so terrible already, Janet knew it was the thing that was bothering him the most, and she reached behind her and picked up a blanket that had been neatly folded and sitting on a stand, and then spread it over him, tucking it around him. It wasn't cold in the room – it was quite warm actually – so she had a feeling that his chill was more reaction from what had happened – or a memory of just how cold he'd been when they'd brought him to the clinic. Another disadvantage to having a photographic memory, she decided.

"Better?"

He shook his head, but didn't complain about being cold again.

"Is Cassie here?"

It was Janet's turn to shake her head.

"No. Sam and Jack _were_, though. They're at the camp, now, but I just spoke to Sam… she's worried about you."

He sighed, and closed his eyes.

"Tell her I'm fine and not to worry."

"I did."

"Good."

"Once you're feeling a bit better, we can transfer you to the SGC…"

Ian opened his eyes.

"I don't want to go to the SGC. I want to go home."

Which didn't surprise her at all. She'd been pretty sure that the moment she'd mentioned the SGC he was going to rebel – and she'd done it on purpose just for that. So she could get a better gauge of what was going on inside his head. He'd reacted exactly as she'd expected, and that reassured her that he wasn't addled by the shot he'd take to his head.

"We'll see what happens," she promised, tucking the blanket around him once more. "Get some rest, okay?"

He nodded, not yet up to arguing with her about anything, and Janet watched as he closed his eyes and fell back to sleep almost immediately.

OOOOOOOOOO

The rain stopped while the campers were finishing up the last of the morning games in the gym. While Sam and Shawn – excluded due to their injuries – watched, the kids were chased around the gym by their counselors and the other campers, running themselves just as wild as they might have if they were outside in the field.

The sun came out just as Gary finally called a stop to the last game – which was the weirdest version of duck duck goose that Sam had ever seen – and was incredibly fun to watch.

"All right, Campers! Get to your cabins and get ready for lunch, and be down here when the bell rings," Gary ordered, grinning at the panting counselors, who looked grateful for the reprieve. "We'll be playing outside this afternoon, rain or shine!"

There were cheers following this announcement, and the kids rushed to the doors, chattering happily about what they'd just played, and what they were expecting to play later on.

In deference to the fact that Jack looked about as worn out as he'd ever been, River grinned.

"I'll take the kids up to the cabin if you want to help Shawn get there…"

River, of course, was in excellent shape and wasn't even breathing heavily after all the running.

Jack wanted to scowl, but he couldn't help but be grateful for the offer.

"Sounds like a plan. We'll meet you there."

It would give him a chance to make sure Sam was safely wherever she was heading as well. Probably the nurse's cabin where Jaffer and Mandy were hanging out with Jake, who had been sleeping when Sam had left them.

"_You_ look worn out," Sam said, smiling up at him when he limped over – trying to hide the limp.

Jack nodded, reaching down and taking her good hand so he could pull her to her feet.

"I feel worn out."

Since the room was already clearing out, Shawn decided to ask Jack about the subject that he couldn't get Sam to mention again, and when Jack reached down to help Shawn to his feet as well, he spoke up.

"Hey, Jack…"

"Yeah?"

"What do _you_ know about Ian that I don't?"

Jack looked at Sam, realizing that there was something going on that he wasn't in on. She tried to tell him something with her look, but he couldn't figure it out.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Sam mentioned that Ian's been out like this before – when River and I were hurt – but she won't tell me when, or what's going on with him."

Ah. Crapola. Now he knew what Sam had been trying to tell him and hadn't been able to. Luckily, Jack not only was Shawn's father, but he also outranked him – and he had security on his side in this. Which was all he needed to give himself more time to get together with Sam and hopefully Ian and find out what Shawn knew and what he didn't so they could decide what he _should_ know.

"Sam wouldn't discuss it, because this isn't the time or place for it, Shawn," Jack said, evasively.

"But-"

"Shawn."

The cadet scowled, both because he knew that meant Jack wasn't going to tell him anything, and because that very silence on both Sam and Jack's part meant that whatever was going on with Ian was far more than some little something. It was probably huge, and was probably a great big military secret, and Shawn had been left out of it. Which struck a nerve when you considered that his very existence was a huge military secret – there weren't a lot of hybrid alien/humans running around the planet, after all, were there? He hated being left out of a secret.

Unfortunately, he also knew that Jack wasn't screwing around on this. His expression was serious, and there was no amusement in his eyes. Which meant he wasn't keeping the secret simply to torment Shawn.

"Let's get Sam to the nurse's cabin," Jack told him, changing the subject – and Shawn knew it was a permanent change with no option but to accept it.

He nodded, accepting it for now, but silently planning on asking Ian what the hell was going on as soon as he saw him next.


	67. 67

Jaffer greeted Sam, Jack and Shawn like he hadn't seen them in months instead of hours, wagging his tail ferociously and whuffling all of them as if to make sure that none of them had taken any additional injuries without him being there to protect them from themselves. Once he had been reassured – and had been cuddled and made much of by Jack – he moved out of the way so Mandy could greet them as well.

The camp nurse had been sitting in a comfortable chair on her porch with Jaffer, watching the rain stop and then the sun come out and listening for any sound that might tell her Jake was waking up. While it was damp outside, it wasn't cold, so she and the lab had been perfectly content to sit outside and wait for the campers.

"Did he give you any problems?" Sam asked as Jack helped her up the two steps to the porch of the cabin.

Mandy shook her head.

"He was a perfect gentleman."

"He gets that from _me_," Jack said.

Sam snorted.

Mandy smiled as well.

"He slept all morning."

"He gets _that_ from Jack, too," Sam said, poking her head into the door of the cabin so she could check on her son without waking him. There had been a time when she would have been compelled to pick him up and cuddle him – even if he was asleep – but she was more experienced, now, and also more inclined to let the baby sleep when he needed it so he wouldn't be cranky later.

"He knows what's important," Jack said, coming up behind her and peeking his head in the door, too. Which put him right behind Sam with his body pressed lightly against hers.

She turned; satisfied that Jake was fine, and smiled.

"He's still asleep."

"Want me to wake him?"

"Do you want to feed him, change him and then rock him back to sleep?"

"I wouldn't mind."

He wouldn't, either. Jack was very good about doing his share with Jake, and Sam knew it. But he had other things to do that day, and Sam pushed against his chest, forcing him back out onto the porch.

"You two have campers to wrangle," she told him and Shawn. "Get going, before River ends up tied to the flagpole or something."

Shawn grinned, his annoyance at being out of the loop on whatever was going on with Ian overcome by the fact that Jack and Sam really were his favorite people in the world.

"He'd probably deserve it."

"Go on," Sam said, shooing them off the porch. "And take Jaffer with you."

Jack helped Shawn off the porch, and then looked up at Sam and Mandy.

"See you at lunch?"

She shook her head.

"I'm going to go in town and check on Ian, and then do a little shopping. We didn't bring any extra clothes, after all, and I hardly think we can ask for an emergency airlift to bring us some."

Jack nudged Shawn.

"She just wants an excuse to _shop_…"

"Just for that, _Colonel_, you're getting Aqua Man underwear."

Shawn snorted, and turned to head up to the cabin, with Jaffer right beside him giving the young man a supportive shoulder if he should need it. Jack waited just a moment longer.

"Drive safe."

Sam nodded.

"I always do."

He smiled, and turned and followed Shawn and Jaffer up the hill.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lunch was a noisy affair that had all the campers yelling, trying to be heard over every other yelling camper as they discussed what activities they hoped they were going to be doing that afternoon now that the rain had finally stopped. Most of them wanted to swim, many of them wanted to go riding, and several hoped it would be something up at the ball field which was undoubtedly very wet and muddy and would make for the absolute best game of football ever played.

All of this shouting and laughing was accomplished while the kids still managed to stuff themselves on chili, sandwiches, potato salad, fruit and an assortment of juices and other drinks.

"I don't think that we'll be riding," Shawn said to Chad, who had voiced a hopeful opinion about going out that afternoon for a ride. "The trails are probably wet and slick, still, and they wouldn't want one of the horses or ponies to slip and fall."

The boy's face fell, but River didn't seem heartbroken at all. He was still bearing bruises from his last ride, after all, and definitely didn't care to have a repeat of the experience.

"Yes, we wouldn't want to have a horse fall on _anyone_, would we?" he said, somewhat sarcastically, causing the boys to laugh, and Jack to smile. The first thing Jack had asked River about were the bruises on the Californian's forearm and chin, and the boys had been more than willing to tell the story to Jack.

"Hopefully, we'll be-"

Shawn was interrupted when Gary got out of his chair and headed for the front of the room, ready to give the announcements and tell them all what they'd be doing that day and ending the speculation – although it was fun to listen to the kids shouting.

"How was lunch, campers?" He asked, smiling at all of them once he had their full attention – which admittedly didn't take too long.

There were all sorts of shouts in reply, and Gary let them run on and on, knowing that Jared and his kitchen staff would be able to hear the praises being shouted at them and figuring it wasn't such a bad thing to let them know how appreciated they were. After a moment, however, he raised his hand for silence, and received it quickly.

"Good! So, since I know most of you are wondering what we're going to be doing this afternoon, I figured it was time to let you know, before-"

He was interrupted by a loud bang coming from one of the outer doors, signaling that someone was coming into the building. Someone who didn't know that if you just let that door go it would slam – loudly. Since all the campers knew this by now – and knew that they weren't supposed to let the door slam – it was a sign that whoever was coming into the main building wasn't someone who was staying at the camp just then. Or ever had.

Sure enough, the door to the cafeteria, revealing a tall, thin man dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, followed by a blonde woman in a pair of walking shorts and a polo shirt. They looked around the room of suddenly quiet campers, and then the man turned and whispered something to someone just outside the door. Intrigued, now, every kid and adult in the place was watching, and a moment later they all saw as a little blonde girl limped out from behind the man. She smiled shyly at them, and there were suddenly several people talking excitedly all at once.

"_Libby_!"


	68. 68

The little girl headed for the table that held her counselors and fellow campers, and the woman behind her visibly stopped herself from reaching out and stopping her. Jack understood immediately, and was pretty sure that any of the counselors in the room that were parents would understand as well. Libby had convinced her parents to allow her to come back to finish out the camp week – only a couple of days – but the parents weren't completely convinced they were doing the right thing, and probably were still considering snatching her up and putting her in to the car to take her home where they knew she'd be safe and sound. The only problem with that was that the girl wasn't willing to go, now that she was safe and sound here at camp – with her new friends.

Since the Australian table was right beside Romania's – which was Libby's cabin – Jack and the boys easily overheard the conversation between Libby and the others, even as Libby's parents pulled Gary Hines aside for a quick conference.

"Are you staying?" One of the girls asked, excitedly.

Libby nodded, grinning.

"My mom and dad _said_ I could – as long as I'm careful."

Ann hugged the girl tightly.

"We'll make sure you're safe," she said, fervently, and Shawn and River knew that she was feeling guilty for her getting lost and hurt in the first place. "I promise."

Libby smiled, and sat down, but she was still the center of attention for the entire camp – including her tablemates.

"Did you get hurt?" One of the girls asked.

"Were you _scared_?" Another asked at the same time.

"What happened?" asked another.

"I cut myself," Libby said, pointing at her side, and her forehead – although her cut was up in her hair where they couldn't really see it, even in her blonde hair. "And I hurt my leg, but it's not bad, the doctor said."

"But were you scared?" the same girl repeated.

Libby shook her head.

"I was… until Ian found me. Then I wasn't. I didn't hurt and wasn't cold, either."

The girls looked impressed at that, and they all looked over at Australia's table automatically, looking for Ian, even though they all knew he wasn't going to be there.

"How's Ian doing, Jack?" Danin asked, being the only one at that table who knew Jack well enough to address him so easily – and knowing that if anyone knew how Ian was, it'd be Jack.

Now all the kids were looking at him – those that had heard the question were, anyways. Jack wasn't concerned. He didn't know much, but it wasn't like Ian was at death's door, so it was definitely okay to tell the truth.

"He's going to be fine. Just took a knock to the head."

"His head was all _bloody_," Libby confirmed.

"But he's _okay_," Jack said, quickly. The last thing they needed was for Sammy to get upset again – or worse, have more kids than _just_ Sammy get upset. "He should be back soon."

"That's good news," Ann said, smiling.

Jack nodded, and started to say something in reply, but Gary was finished speaking to Libby's parents, who had left the room without making a scene with a lengthy, tearful goodbye with their daughter, and was ready to continue with his announcements.

"Okay, campers!"

All heads turned from Libby's table to Gary once more, and the Camp Director gave the little girl a warm smile.

"As you all can see, we have Libby back for the rest of the week…"

He trailed off when the kids all clapped – including the boys from Australia who really couldn't care less that Libby was back, but were clapping because Shawn, River and Jack were clapping. Libby blushed a brilliant red, but her smile was radiant, and made Gary grin.

He gave them a few moments to calm down, and then continued once he had their attention once more.

"Once we're done eating, I want you all to go to your cabins and stay there until someone brings you a piece of paper." He smiled. "What's that you say? You have plenty of paper? Not a piece like this! On this paper, you'll find a list of items that you and your cabin have to find. As a _group_." He didn't say it, but there was no doubt to any of the counselors that he didn't want any kids straying from their counselors during this particular adventure.

"Once you've assembled everything on the list, bring it to the picnic area, where you will find a picnic table with your cabin's name on it. That's where you put your found items, where they can be checked by one of the staff to make sure they fit the criteria. The first cabin to gather all the items on their list wins a special prize."

There were excited murmurs at this announcement, and the Australian boys all looked at their counselors with grins. A scavenger hunt! This was going to be fun!

"Okay!" Gary said, before the kids really even stopped talking amongst themselves. "Finish your lunch and head up to your cabin."

No one wanted any more to eat.

"Let's go!" Chad shouted, unable to hide his eagerness.

Wilson stood up, pushing his chair back, watching Shawn and River for the signal to go.

Jack grinned, and made a gesture to Shawn telling him silently that it was his call to let the boys go, and Shawn waved his hands in a gesture he saw Jack use often.

"Off with you guys, then," Shawn told them. "We'll meet you at the cabin."

A stampede of hippos couldn't have made more noise – and a group of baboons couldn't have moved quicker. The cafeteria was almost empty immediately as the other counselors at the other tables released their kids as well and everyone stormed off in the direction of the cabins.

River grinned and stood up.

"I'll go make sure they don't riot."

Jack nodded.

"Take Jaffer with you. That'll keep them distracted."

The Californian nodded, and headed for the door, slapping his thigh.

"Come on, Jaffer. Let's go herd them into the cabin."

Jaffer was more than willing, and he trotted out of the room at River's side.

Shawn looked at Jack as he got awkwardly to his feet.

"Is Ian really okay?"

He hadn't actually been worried about Ian until he saw Libby return without him. He'd assumed they'd both come back together – or Ian would return first. Surly and annoyed – and maybe a little worse for the wear, but there. Instead, Ian wasn't back, and Shawn was beginning to wonder if maybe Jack and Sam had been talking about something entirely different when they'd been discussing Ian earlier.

Jack shrugged. He never lied to Shawn, and wouldn't start now.

"I haven't seen him, Shawn. But Sam is in constant contact with Fraiser, who is keeping a close eye on Ian, so if something was wrong she'd know immediately – and so would we."

Not exactly reassured, but knowing that Jack was right, Shawn nodded.

"You'll let me know if you hear anything?"

"Of course." Jack got up as well, and put an arm over Shawn's shoulder, wondering when the boy had grown tall enough that he didn't have to reach down much any more to do it. "Come on. If we leave those boys alone with River too long, he'll have them all wearing bright orange clothes – and Ian will kill us when he gets back if we allow that."


	69. 69

While the camp was lingering over a noisy meal and then getting ready to scavenge for assorted items, Sam was pulling up to the clinic.

It was awkward to get her injured leg out of the truck and get out, but she managed without tripping, and turned to get Jake out of his car seat when Janet Fraiser appeared at the door, followed by Doctor Kennedy.

"I'll get him, Sam," Janet said, walking over and standing beside the truck.

She gave her friend a grateful smile – not that she was worried about dropping Jake, but this was better, really – and moved back.

"Thanks."

She hobbled over to the porch and greeted Doctor Kennedy with a smile.

"How are Ian and Libby?"

Kennedy smiled.

"Libby went back to camp an hour ago."

"_Really_? That's great."

The doctor nodded.

"It took a lot of fast talking and a fair number of tears to convince her mother to let her go."

Sam chuckled, smiling when Janet joined them with a just-woken Jacob who looked about as grumpy as he ever had. Nothing was worse than being woken from a sound car-trip induced nap, after all.

"I'd better take him, Janet, or there are going to be a lot more tears in a minute…"

Fraiser nodded; she knew the look on little Jake's face well, after all. He looked just like his daddy at his worst when he was grumpy like that, and while it was absolutely adorable, the baby was a master at screaming and crying at the same time. Preemie or not, his lungs were just fine, and he proved it when he was grumpy, sleepy, hungry and wet.

She handed Jake to Sam, who cuddled him, crooning softly as they entered the clinic. Jake whimpered – the first stage of a full-fledged fit – but Sam was already there, soothing him and reminding him that he was a good baby who didn't like to cry.

"How's Ian?" She asked, bouncing Jake in a list minute ditch to distract him from his temper tantrum.

Janet smiled, knowing from how red the little face was turning that Sam was fighting a losing battle. Jake had his father's temper all right.

"He's resting comfortably."

"He woke up for a few minutes," Kennedy confirmed.

"Good." Jake's whimpers turned into low cries – which soon turned into louder ones.

"Is _he_ all right?" Kennedy asked.

Sam nodded.

"Just a little grumpy. He's fine…" she looked down at her son with a tender look that he wasn't sharing just then.

"Put him with Ian, Sam," Janet suggested.

Kennedy grinned.

"That'd be one way to wake him up, I suppose."

Janet shook her head. Waking Ian up wasn't what she had in mind. It was no secret that Ian had some kind of crazy ability to calm Jake with a touch – although they'd never tried it when he was asleep.

"You won't believe this…"

Sam hesitated, smiling, but then shook her head.

"That wouldn't be nice, Janet. It _might_ wake him…"

"So? Then you can say hi and take word back to Colonel O'Neill and the others that you talked to him and reassure them that he's going to be okay."

Still Sam hesitated.

"I don't-"

"Pffft." Janet reached over and took a now screaming Jacob from his mother. "Come here, Roberta," she said to Kennedy. "You've _got_ to see this."

"Janet…"

Sam still wasn't convinced that what they were doing was very nice, but Janet was grinning in anticipation.

With Kennedy following and Sam coming along behind – because she couldn't help but wonder if it would work with Ian asleep – Janet carried Jake into the room off the end of the hall, opening the door silently, even though the baby gave notice of their arrival long before they actually entered the room.

Ian was sleeping; sprawled on his belly with several blankets covering him. More than Sam thought he needed, although he didn't seem flushed or overheated. Before she could ask about that, though, Janet pulled the blankets back and settled Jake in the space right by Ian's side, reaching over and taking Ian's hand and resting it lightly against Jake's bare arm.

The baby stopped crying instantly, his brown eyes watery and filled with a shocked look that made Sam and Janet both smile.

He wasn't the only one that looked shocked. Doctor Kennedy was astounded by the abrupt stop.

"How did you do that?"

Sam smiled, and shrugged.

"It's Ian. Jake doesn't cry when he's with Ian. He'll whimper, and he'll make noises, but he never reaches a full-fledged cry."

"Why not?"

"Beats me."

Kennedy smiled as well.

"At least you know who to hire as a baby sitter."

"Ian's afraid of Jake," Janet said, smiling fondly down at the baby – _and_ Ian, since he wasn't awake to see it.

Sam was watching Ian as well, and was the first to see the New Yorker react to the baby now snuggled up against his side. His hand moved first, slowly running along the baby's side, and then his head moved, as he finally opened his eyes to confirm what his hand and sleepy mind were telling him. They all saw the tired expression change to one that was tired surprise – and then annoyance when he turned his head and saw the three women watching him sleep. Jake he could handle; Janet, Sam and some woman he didn't recognize was another matter completely.

Janet recognized that look immediately, of course. Ian didn't hide his emotions any better than Jake did, after all.

"We'll leave you alone for a bit, Sam," she said, stepping back towards the door, followed by Doctor Kennedy. "Call if you need us."

Sam nodded, and turned back to Ian, smiling at the sleepy annoyed expression.

"Hi."

He scowled; looking down at Jake again and moving so he was on his side, not his belly. Jake rolled into the depression in the mattresses, which put him right up against Ian's belly. Which was fine with the baby.

"Hi."

She came over and awkwardly sat down on the edge of his bed, stretching her injured leg out in front of her – which drew Ian's attention to it. He even managed to lift his head off the pillow to take in the brace on the leg – and then the cast on her hand.

"What happened to you?" he asked, too tired to make small talk – even though Sam was one of the very few (maybe the only one, besides Cassie) that he was willing to do that with.

She shook her head.

"Nothing. Just an accident."

He reached out and took her hand, frowning.

"What happened?"

"I fell."

He didn't say anything, and Sam decided that he was distracted. She'd seen him distracted many times, after all, and knew the look well. Then she felt a sudden warm numbing sensation in her wrist, and realized what he was doing.

"Ian, don-"

Before she could even finish the sentence, he moved his hand away from her, and she was suddenly aware of a distinctive lack of pain. Where her knee had been killing her only a little while before, it was now fine. Sam could tell immediately, and she shook her head, amazed at the ability and awed at seeing it in action – even though it wasn't the first time.

"I _would_ have healed on my own," she told Ian, shaking her head.

He nodded, and his head went back to the pillow. He was still tired – maybe a little more than he had been before waking up – but there was an impish gleam in his tired dark eyes when he looked at her.

"Want me to undo it?"

She shook her head again.

"Crazy kid." Leaning over, still encumbered by the brace on her leg, but no longer bothered by any pain, and brushed a kiss against his forehead. "Get some sleep, Ian. I'll be back to see you before I head back to the camp."

He nodded, and closed his eyes, and Sam gathered up her now quiet son and carried him out of the room, closing the door silently behind her.


	70. 70

By the time the staff member brought Australia their list of scavenger hunt items, he also brought them several other rules that Gary hadn't covered in the cafeteria. He handed two sheets of paper to Jack, and both of them had the same list on them. With the kids, River and Shawn crowded around the door listening; he gave them their last minute instructions.

"Each item on the list has to be brought to your picnic table separately, and in order," he said. "You need to have one person at the table checking each item as it comes in…" A glance at Shawn, who was leaning against the doorway to take the weight off his broken foot told Jack that he thought that might be a good job for Shawn. After looking at the list, Jack had to agree with him.

"We can do that."

"Great. You'll see there are some extra credit items – these have to be gathered last. There's a time limit of one hour starting when the bell rings." The staff member looked at his watch. "Which should be in about ten minutes. If you can't find an item, you have to forfeit on that one before you can move on to the next. And you _have_ to stick together."

"Got it."

"Good luck."

"What does the winning cabin get?" Chad asked eagerly.

The staff member smiled secretively.

"I can't tell you. It's _classified_."

There were groans from all the kids, which made Jack smile, too.

"When we win, we'll find out," he told them, which made the room erupt into excited cheers. Yeah! They could win.

"Have fun, guys," the staff member told them, leaving their little porch and heading to the next cabin to deliver a list and instructions.

"What do we have to find, Jack?" Brian asked, curiously.

All the other kids crowded around as Jack looked down at the list.

"Let's see… in this order: A pine cone. A horseshoe. A quarter. An oar. A sandal. A stick. A barrette. A leaf. A letter to a parent." Jack looked at the boys. "Have any of you written letters to your parents?"

All of them shook their heads, no.

"I could write one really quick!" Chad offered. "It doesn't say we can't, does it?"

Jack shook his head.

"Nope. Just says a letter to a parent."

"I'll write it now."

"No," River said. "You have to wait until we get to it on the list. That's what the rule is. _In order_, remember?"

"Awww…"

Jack nodded his agreement.

"We have to follow the rules of the game."

There was a little pouting, but not much. The boys were too good-natured for that to last long.

"What else is on the list, Jack?" Chance asked, knowing from the amount of printing on the paper that it was a longer than what Jack had already read off.

"A whole bunch of stuff," he told them looking at the list again, and shaking his head. One of the extra credit items was an _elephant_. "Shawn? Why don't you head down to the picnic tables and get ready there?"

The young man would need at least ten minutes to hobble his way down with crutches.

"Okay, Jack. I'll see you guys down there."

The boys nodded, eager to get started and impatient for the bell to ring.

Chance turned to Jack, frowning.

"Where are we going to find a _barrette_?"

"We'll have to figure that out when we come to it."

"I bet the _girls_ have some," Wilson said, looking over at the girls' cabins on the other side of the little clearing.

"They won't give us one," Brian said. "They stink."

"We'll see," Jack said, smiling. They had River, after all. He could probably talk one of the female counselors out of a barrette. Probably, Jack thought privately, he could talk one out of more than that, but that wasn't something he wanted to know about.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"You need any help?"

Shawn looked over at the voice coming from behind him and saw Ann coming up to him, obviously on her way down to the picnic table area as well, with a list of items in her hand. He shook his head.

"I'm okay. Thanks."

"They made you be the checker in person, huh?"

He nodded.

"I'm the gimp, right now, so I wouldn't be much use running around camp looking for things."

She gave him a tight smile that didn't reach her eyes, and hesitated. And then obviously decided to say what she'd been thinking.

"I just want to tell you how sorry I am that you were hurt."

Shawn shrugged as well as he could with the crutches digging into his armpits.

"It wasn't your fault."

She nodded, her face serious.

"Yes, it was. Libby was my responsibility. If I'd kept my eye on her like I was _supposed_ to, she wouldn't have wandered off looking for that damned rock of hers, and she wouldn't have gotten lost. Then no one would have been hurt, and Ian would still be here, instead of in a hospital bed, and you wouldn't have a broken foot. Not to mention-"

Shawn raised his hand to interrupt her before she could go any further.

"First of all… it's not your fault. Kids do dumb things. I've done some doozys when I was a kid, with a lot worse consequences than someone getting a broken foot and someone else getting a bump on the head. Second of all, Ian's probably a lot more comfortable where he is than being here, so he's probably not upset at all."

Shawn hoped.

Ann looked like she was going to say something, but Shawn wasn't done.

"As for me… well, maybe I can get some sympathy points from my girlfriend when I get home."

Ann smiled. Shawn could see that she wasn't completely convinced, but he definitely wasn't holding a grudge against her – or Libby – for what had happened, and he'd make sure to get hold of Ian and talk to him before Ann did when he returned to the camp (if he really did return before the week was out) and make sure that Ian didn't, either. Or at least that Ian didn't let her know if he did.

"You're a nice guy, Shawn," Ann said, not hiding her relief. "I bet you don't need sympathy points."

He grinned, and just managed to avoid tripping over his crutches and take a tumble down the hill.

"You'd be surprised."


	71. 71

Shawn barely made it to Australia's picnic table before the bell rang, signaling the start of the scavenger hunt. Less than two minutes later there was a mad rush of campers and kids – in their cabin groups – rushing down towards the tables as well. To Shawn's surprise, they weren't all holding pinecones, which was the first thing on Shawn's list.

Grant came running up, dropping a pinecone on their table.

"Hi, Shawn!"

"Hey, Grant. Good! A _pinecone_."

"We're off!"

No time for small talk, after all. Not when you had lots to gather and places to run. Especially when the others were yelling for you to hurry up. Grant ran off to where the other Australians were waiting – just on the edge of what they thought would be as far away as they could get.

"Let's go!" River yelled, cheerfully, waving his arm expansively, and they all ran up the hill in a group, followed closely by other groups all heading for different spots in the camp.

Shawn looked down at the list in his hand, marked off pinecone and saw that the kids were heading for the corral to see if they could talk the wranglers out of a horseshoe. Shawn looked over at Ann, who now had a pillow sitting on her table.

"Do you have a horseshoe on your list?"

She looked down at her list and shook her head.

"No. Do you have a lock of hair?"

"You have a lock of hair on your list?" Shawn asked, surprised.

Ann smiled and nodded.

"It's an extra credit item."

"We have a license plate," Kelly said from Spain's table. "Among other things..."

Shawn shook his head. What a nutty list.

OOOOOOOOOO

Janet looked up from her conversation with Doctor Kennedy when Sam emerged from Ian's room, Jake in one arm her crutch in the other.

"Did he kick you out?" Kennedy asked, smiling.

Sam shook her head, smiling as well.

"He went back to sleep."

Janet, however, was watching the way Sam was moving, which was definitely different than it had been earlier. Not a lot different, but enough for Janet to notice. Had Kennedy known Sam better – or had she spent more time with Sam – she might have noticed as well.

"At least we know he's not addled from the blow to the head," Kennedy said.

"True," Janet said. She looked at Sam again. "Are you heading back to the camp, now?"

Sam shook her head.

"I need to go do some shopping. Would you like to come?"

Fraiser nodded. She didn't have any more clothing and personal items than Sam and Jack did, and definitely would like to get a few things – especially deodorant and shampoo.

"I would."

"If you want to leave Jacob, I can baby sit," Kennedy offered.

Sam smiled, glad for the offer. She was still one of those moms who didn't like to leave her baby with just anyone, but Kennedy was a doctor, and Ian was close at hand if anything happened. Not that she expected anything to.

"That'd be helpful, thanks."

"If he fusses and isn't wet or hungry, just put him to bed with Ian," Janet said, obviously okay with the idea of leaving Jake with Roberta – which told Sam that Fraiser liked this doctor.

Kennedy smiled, and took Jake from his mother.

"We won't be gone long," Sam promised.

OOOOOOOO

Janet watched as Sam got into the truck, noticing that she didn't have much trouble – aside from the fact that the crutch was in the way and the brace didn't let her bend her knee. More obvious, though, was the decided lack of pain in Sam's expression when she moved.

"Why do I get the feeling you don't need that brace any more?" Janet asked as she closed the door and buckled her seatbelt, looking over at Sam.

Sam shook her head.

"I don't."

"Ian?"

Sam nodded.

"Who else?"

"Well… you _do_ have a very good doctor, you know…"

Sam laughed, and started the truck.

"You could always ask about getting one of those Ancient devices to stick your head in."

Janet snorted, amused, and shook her head. She'd seen what Jack had gone through with the Ancient's knowledge downloaded into his head, and while Ian was handling his a lot better, it was still something she didn't want – even with the amazing ability he'd gained from it. There were too many side-affects for her comfort.

"I'll pass, thank you."

"When we get back to the clinic, I'll take a look at the knee, and if it's solid enough we'll take the brace off."

"That'd be great," Sam said with obvious relief.

"The cast stays on until we leave, though."

"Yeah."

They'd never be able to explain to anyone – especially Kennedy – how Sam's wrist managed to heal in only days.

OOOOOOOO

A piece of paper was slapped down on the picnic table with only a quick hello, and then the kids were off again, panting from all the running but still eager and willing to go find their next item. Shawn glanced at the note, grinned, and marked letter to parents off his list.

"What does it say?" Ann asked, curiously. She wasn't the only one looking, though. All the cabins had that item on their list, and so far none of them had been especially long ones – and all of them had been made up quickly and on the spot.

"Read it, Shawn," said Kelly, who was close by as well.

Shawn picked the paper up again.

"'_Dear mom and dad. Here at camp, playing games. Got to go. Wilson says hi. Love, Chad_.'"

"Well… it's better than mine," Ann said, looking at hers, which she'd received several items before. _Hers_ had been even shorter.

Libby, who was now sitting beside Ann acting as her assistant since her sore legs had given out on her after only a little running around, smiled shyly. She'd been the one to write the letter and since she'd seen her parents only hours before there hadn't been much to say.

"What are yours looking for, now?" Kelly asked Shawn.

"A frying pan. Yours?"

"A feather. And then it's on to the extra credit items."

"Yeah, us, too."

"Although I'm afraid to even ask where Gary plans for them to find any of these things."

Since the gentleman in question just happened to be walking by, checking items and lists, he smiled.

"It's all about being _creative_, Ann," Gary told her. "They'll think of something, I'm sure."

Uh huh. Shawn considered himself fairly creative, but he couldn't figure out _where_ Jack and the Australian boys were going to find a picture of dogs playing poker.


	72. 72

"Ha!"

Another sheet of paper was slapped down on the table, all the kids – and Jack –panting from running, but looking pleased with themselves. River was barely breathing heavy.

Shawn looked at the paper, almost glad that he had broken his ankle. It sure beat the heck out of all that running.

"What's this?"

"A picture of dogs playing poker," Bruce said. "_Just_ like the list says."

"We're off!" River yelled, taking off at a run. The kids all cheered, and ran off behind him, and Jack sighed tiredly and trotted off following. Jaffer snorted, and stayed next to Shawn's table, more than willing to be finished chasing campers around the camp picking up odds and ends.

Shawn looked down at the picture, and smiled.

"Let me see," Ann said, coming over.

"They don't look like dogs to me," Kelly said, coming over as well. "More like camels."

"And I think they have too many cards to be playing _poker_," Ann said.

"They kind of look like dogs," Shawn said, defending his cabin. "More like dogs than camels."

"Maybe it's upside down," Kelly said, chuckling and turning the picture the other way.

Shawn pretended to have his feelings hurt, and he took the picture away from her, holding it so she couldn't see it.

"It's _dogs_. Dogs playing poker. And I'm going to mark it off my list."

"You have to admit," the guy who was marking items off for Egypt – the eight-year-olds' cabin – said. "It's a lot better than that duck your kids found."

Ann looked at the little rubber ducky that was sitting on the table in front of her.

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's supposed to be a _live_ duck."

"It doesn't _say_ that," she protested.

"It _means_ it, though."

"Well, if _Shawn_ gets to use that picture of water buffaloes playing-"

"_Dogs_," Shawn interjected.

"_Water buffaloes_ playing poker…" Ann continued. "Then _I_ get to use this duck."

"I suppose-"

They were interrupted by Sally's group running up. Incredibly enough, they dropped a license plate on the table and ran off, already discussing the next item on their list.

"Who do you suppose they stole _that_ from?" Shawn asked, shaking his head and wondering where a group of seven-year-olds had found a screwdriver to take off a license plate. Probably had been the counselor's idea.

"I don't know," Ann said as they watched Kelly check it off her list. "But they'd better remember to put it back when they're done with it."

OOOOOOOO

"Do we draw a picture?" Chance asked, looking at the last item on the list.

Jack shook his head.

"It doesn't say a _picture_ of an elephant. It says an elephant."

River made a show of looking around.

"There aren't a lot of elephants running around here, Colonel. We have a better chance of finding a kangaroo."

"What about a key chain?" Sammy asked.

"What?"

Everyone was looking at the boy.

"I have a key chain with an elephant on it."

"Let's go get it!" Brian yelled, excitedly.

"It's at home."

The excitement on the faces of the boy fell so suddenly that it was almost comical. Sammy grinned.

"Just kidding, it's in my bag."

The Australian boys all groaned, grinning at getting a trick played on them, and then dog-piled Sammy, who went under with a squeal of delight before vanishing completely.

Jack looked over at River, smiling. He couldn't remember being that young and having that much energy.

"All right, guys," he finally said, reaching down and pulling Wilson off the pile by simply picking him up bodily. He wasn't so old he couldn't control a bunch of kids, after all. "Let's get going, or we're not going to win this thing."

If they didn't hurry, they were going to be dead last.

Sammy crawled out from under the pile, still smiling, and led the way to the cabin.

"I know right where it is," he assured them. "It's with my stuff."

River looked at Jack, watching as the boys ran up to the cabin.

"We're _never_ going to find it, then."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Did you find everything you'll need?" Sam asked.

Janet nodded, holding up several shopping bags.

"Everything but the kitchen sink."

"Probably won't need one."

"That's what I was thinking."

They'd gone to the women's section of the store first, but Sam had shopped quickly, just grabbing the first two outfits that she'd found – and then grabbing some underclothes. She needed to shop for Jack and Jake as well, after all.

"How long do you think Ian's going to be out?" Sam asked as they walked to the infant's section of the store.

Janet shrugged.

"It depends on him. When he wakes up next, I'll stuff him to the gills with solid food and then let him go back to sleep. The next time he wakes up, we'll see how he feels."

"Before camp is out?"

"Probably. But I won't make any promises – especially if he gets stubborn and decides he's not going to go back."

"He _has_ to," Sam said, choosing a sleeper for Jake. "The boys are worried about him."

"I can't make him, Sam…"

"If he starts to balk, I want you to call me."

Janet smiled.

"That's not nice."

"I know. But his boys are worried about him and they need to see him so they can be reassured that he's okay before camp is over."

"He doesn't think of them as _his_ boys, I imagine."

"It doesn't matter if he does or not," she said, picking up a package of diapers. "_They_ do, and that's all that counts."


	73. 73

Despite her hope to have a short talk with him before going back to the camp, Ian wasn't awake – and didn't wake up – when Sam stopped off at the clinic to drop Janet off and pick up Jacob. Jake was wide awake, however, and Doctor Kennedy couldn't help but be just a little reluctant to hand him back to his mother. Like Jack, Jake could be very endearing when he wasn't being Grumpy Baby, and he had that baby cuteness about him to make him even more irresistible. She reminded Janet to call if Ian woke or if she needed anything, and then headed back to Millcreek, now supplied for the last two days of camp.

When she arrived, campers were walking around the camp with various items in their hands; some heading for the cabin areas, some heading down to the water, and some heading off towards what was either the corrals and barns or the playing field. Before Sam had a chance to even wonder what they could be doing, Jaffer came rushing up, tail wagging excitedly as he greeted her with a lot of snuffling and licking.

"Hey, Little Man," Sam said, kneeling down to stroke and cuddle him – something that was a lot easier to do now that she didn't have that brace on her knee. "What have you guys been up to, huh?"

"We've been doing the world's weirdest scavenger hunt." Jack's voice came from behind her, and Sam smiled, because for just the briefest of moments she'd almost thought that Jaffer had been ready to answer.

She turned without getting up, still crouched beside the open truck door. Jack had come up behind the truck, and was now leaning against the tire well, watching her and holding a sheet of paper.

"Oh yeah? Is that why I just saw some kid walk by with a necklace made of toilet paper tubes?"

He smiled, and handed her the piece of paper in his hand.

"Probably, yeah."

"What's this?"

"What does it _look_ like?" he challenged.

She looked at the paper and saw it was a drawing. A drawing of… _something_.

"Um…"

Jack's smile widened.

"Come on Genius Woman, you have to use your _imagination_ on this one… what is it?"

"A bus accident?"

Jack snorted.

"Try dogs playing poker."

Sam looked back at the drawing, idly scratching Jaffer's ears when the lab decided he needed her attention more than Jack did. Finally she shook her head, and handed it back to him.

"I'll take your word for it."

Jack chuckled and opened the glove box of the truck, sticking the paper in it.

"We'll save that for Shawn," he said. "A souvenir like that is priceless."

Sam nodded her agreement, and stood up after giving Jaffer a final pat.

"Did you have a good afternoon?"

"An _active_ one," Jack said, reaching in and freeing Jake from his car seat. He looked over at Sam, cuddling the baby close. "I see Ian woke up."

She looked at him in surprise.

"How did you know that?"

"You're not limping – or wearing that brace."

She didn't even ask how he'd come from seeing that to concluding that Ian had been responsible. She just nodded.

"He wasn't awake long, but yes, he woke up."

"Long enough to take care of you," Jack said, approvingly.

Sam nodded again.

"He wasted energy he _shouldn't_ have, though. I-"

"It's put to good use," Jack interrupted, and Sam knew she was talking to the wrong person, since as far as he was concerned, having her healthy and whole was the most important thing in the world. And she loved him for that.

She just made an exasperated noise, and reached for Jake.

"I bought you some clothes."

"Sweats?"

"No."

"What am I supposed to sleep in?"

She shrugged.

"Borrow a pair from Shawn."

"Too small."

"What about River?"

Jack made a show of wincing.

"His glow in the dark – have you _seen_ them?"

Sam smiled.

"I guess you're sleeping naked, then."

"_You're_ not going to be there," he said, pretending to pout. "What would be the point?"

She leaned over and kissed him lightly, loving him for still being interested in her – and always willing to let her know.

"Just sleep in your shorts, Jack. You'll live."

He pouted again, kissed her soundly, and handed over their son.

"I'll get the bags."

OOOOOOOO

It was a mark of just how perceptive Janet Fraiser was of patterns and precedents when Ian woke almost exactly when she expected him to. When she returned to the clinic with clean clothes and toiletries, she showered, dressed and then checked on her sleeping patient – just in time to see him open his eyes sleepily and look around with that dazed expression that plainly said he wasn't completely positive where he was.

"Good afternoon," she said, coming over and sitting down on the edge of his bed.

"Hi."

She reached out and took his hand, her fingers smoothly finding his pulse as she watched his expression to make sure that his eyes were focusing properly.

"How do you feel?"

"Okay."

Of course, he still hadn't lifted his head from his pillow, but he was already tensing, obviously wanting to take his hand from hers – although he knew what she was doing and knew better than to interrupt. He _was_ learning, after all.

"Hungry? Tired?"

"Yes."

Janet smiled, amused. He wasn't much for conversation at the best of times, but he was at his succinct best just then.

"Hungry enough to eat before you go back to sleep?"

Ian nodded, and looked around, finally bringing his head off the pillow – although it looked like it took all his energy.

"Where am I?"

"At a medical clinic just outside Millcreek camp."

"Libby?"

Janet smiled.

"She's fine. She's already returned to camp. You can see her as soon as you're feeling up to going back."

"I'm not going back."

"You'd rather go to the SGC?"

Ian scowled, and took his hand from Janet's.

"I don't need to be under medical observation."

"No, you don't," she agreed. "But you _do_ need to eat. We'll discuss camp later."

She wanted him to eat, and if he became stubborn, there was every chance he'd refuse to do anything she wanted – and she definitely didn't feel like arguing with him just then. Time enough for that later.

"I'm not going back," Ian said, firmly – as firmly as he could when he felt as weak as a newly hatched chick, anyways. "I've had enough of _that_ place to last me a lifetime – much less a summer."

"We'll talk about it later," Janet repeated, getting up and heading for the door. "I'll get you something to eat."

Ian watched her go, hunger warring with annoyance. He wasn't going back. Nothing could make him. Not even Hammond.


	74. 74

The next morning dawned clear and bright. While Jack O'Neill was normally more than willing to sleep in on days that he could, a few things prevented him from doing so that particular morning. The first and foremost being the fact that his camper-sized bed was just as uncomfortable as he remembered them being. The second was that he was used to getting up early with Jake to allow Sam a little more sleeping in time, and the third was that Jaffer normally didn't allow him to sleep any later than absolutely necessary.

So even though Jake and Jaffer were safely with Sam in the nurse's cabin, Jack was more or less inclined to wake up early. And once he woke, there was no lounging in bed like he might have had the bed been more comfortable. In fact, it was more or less self-defense that drove him out of bed and into some of his new clothing. Otherwise his back would have twisted into a pretzel any minute, he was certain.

Having gotten out of bed, he stretched a little in the silence of the quiet cabin, and then slipped out the door and into the quiet of the morning.

Jack liked this time of day. He liked the quiet. He liked being at camp where he could watch the sun come up over the lake if he wanted to, and where he might even catch sight of a deer or elk grazing if he got lucky. He wouldn't admit that to anyone, of course – except Sam who already knew – but it didn't stop him from looking toward the edge of the forest as he walked down the hill in search of a cup of coffee and to see if Sam was awake yet.

He didn't see any deer. Or Sam or Jake or Jaffer for that matter – which meant they were all sleeping in. Since the camp had been up late the night before up in the field at campfire – they used a fake fire up there since the campfire area was off limits until they could have engineers come in and look at the ground that had given way during the rainstorm – Jack wasn't really surprised that no one was up and around yet. Gary had allowed them to stay up late singing and laughing – although Jack had wondered why they hadn't had any ghost stories or anything.

Right up until Shawn and River filled him in on the story Ian had told the campers a couple of nights before. Then he was surprised that any of the kids had even gone up to the field in the first place – and it did explain the fair number of brightly painted rocks that many of the kids had been holding. Proving that Ian was brilliant enough to come up with a way to solve the problem he'd caused, but inept enough to have caused the problem in the first place.

Even as Jack was remembering this, an unfamiliar car pulled into the parking lot, and as if thinking of him had summoned him, Ian emerged from the back seat, bundled in a sweatshirt and new jeans, with a less than cheerful expression on his tired face. Janet Fraiser opened the front passenger door, getting out at almost the same time.

Jack walked over just in time to hear Janet thank Doctor Kennedy for driving them in, and he came up to stand beside Ian.

"Good morning."

Ian just grunted a greeting, but Janet gave O'Neill a warm smile as she looked around.

"This place is _lovely_, Colonel."

"See? I told you that you should have come up here, doc. But would you listen to me? Nooo…"

"Maybe next time," Janet said, still looking around.

Jack looked at Ian.

"How are you feeling? Okay?"

"Fine."

He didn't sound fine. He sounded angry. Or maybe he was just tired. Ian tended to be grumpy when he was tired. And when he was hungry. And when he was pretty much everything else.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"I was on my way to get a cup of coffee," Jack said, ignoring Ian's mood for the moment in favor of speaking to Janet. "Want one?"

She nodded.

"Sounds great."

"Ian?"

"Fine."

He stalked off towards the cafeteria, leaving Jack and Janet watching him go.

"He doesn't look happy."

Janet shook her head.

"He's not. He had every intention of coming here just long enough to get his car and then go home."

"But…?"

"But I reminded him he was under orders to be here and he was going to stay here. And then I told him that if he didn't feel well enough to finish his duties as camp counselor, he could go to the SGC where I would be more than happy to keep him under medical observation until such time as he did."

"Ouch." Jack couldn't help but smile, even though he was pretty sure it hadn't been pleasant at the time. "I'll bet he loved that."

"Oh, yeah."

"Sam was expecting a phone call from you last night."

"I know. I didn't even have to go that far. Ian hates being here – mainly because I know he hates being forced into anything – but he hates the infirmary at the SGC even more, and he _really_ hates being forced to stay in bed when he doesn't need to be."

Which proved that Janet had Ian figured out, because that was pretty much exactly what Jack had been thinking.

"So he's healthy?"

She shook her head.

"Not as healthy as he probably thinks he is – and he probably shouldn't be out of bed for another day. But it won't kill him to be here, and as long as he doesn't try to do too much, he'll be fine."

"Good."

"What I would like, Colonel, is for you to have a talk to him. If he's this grumpy when the kids start coming in, he's going to hurt a lot of feelings."

"Ian wouldn't do that, doc," Jack told her.

"Maybe not _intentionally_," Janet agreed. Ian was a pain in the ass sometimes, but he'd never actually gone out of his way to hurt someone before that she could tell. If he was sadistic Cassie would never be with him, and she knew him best. "But he doesn't want to be here, and he's not good at hiding things like that. The kids will pick up on it, and that could cause some little egos to be crushed."

"True."

"Where's the nurse's cabin?" Janet asked. "I'll take my bag up and get settled in with Sam while you talk to him, and then I'll come join you for that cup of coffee."

Jack pointed to the nurse's cabin, and then to the door in the main building that led to the cafeteria.

"I'll be in there."

"I'll meet you there in a few minutes."

She headed up the hill, and Jack turned and headed into the cafeteria. This was going to be fun.


	75. 75

_Author's Note: Definite language alert in this one, folks!_

OOOOOOOOOO

Ian was sitting at one of the tables when Jack walked in. Actually, he looked more slumped than anything; although he sat up a little straighter when Jack opened the door. When he saw who it was, however, he relaxed a little – as if, Jack decided, he'd expected Janet as well and wanted to look more awake or more alert.

Before he'd sat down, however, he'd started the coffee brewing in the machine on the little table against the wall by the serving window. Jack could tell by the sound it was making that it wasn't even close to being finished, so he walked over and sat down at the table across from Ian.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"You looked pretty miffed when you drove up…"

"Yeah."

Jack leaned back in his chair.

"Want to tell me why?"

"No."

He decided to just cut to the chase.

"Let me guess, then. You don't want to be here."

"No."

"Don't like the fresh air?"

"I don't _need_ the fresh air."

"It's not going to kill you."

Ian ignored that. Jack didn't have a ton of time, so he went on without an answer.

"You hate the kids that much?"

Ian scowled.

"I don't _hate_ them at all."

"They're good boys from what I've seen."

"They're fine."

"But you hate being here."

"I could be doing better things with my time."

"Like what?"

"_Anything_."

"That's not what's bothering you."

Ian scowled again, but he didn't deny it.

"No."

"You're mad because you were forced into coming, so now you're throwing a tantrum."

"Fuck you, Jack."

Jack didn't take that personally. In fact, he'd deliberately goaded Ian and had expected that reaction. Making Ian mad was the best way to get him to talk about what it was that was bothering him. The other way was to use Sam – but she wasn't there, and Jack didn't want to have to use Sam every time, any ways.

"Sounds like a tantrum to me."

Sure enough, it worked like a charm. Ian had been seething all morning – and most of the evening before – and like a dam breaking, the words just poured out.

"You try being forced to come up to a place you've never even fucking _heard_ of, sleeping in a bed that fucking beats the shit out of you every time you try to get in or out of it, get surrounded by kids who are always screaming and running around and doing stupid shit and see how you like it."

"I've _done_ it," Jack told him, calmly. "You think I volunteered to come up here the first time I came? You think _Teal'c_ volunteered?"

Ian had heard the story.

"It's not the same."

"How so?"

"Because it's _not_."

Jack shook his head.

"Because…?"

"Because Hammond just got some wild hair up his ass and decided that this would be a good place for me to work on my people skills," Ian snapped. "How the fuck am I supposed to work on anything when I'm in a place I don't want to be, surrounded by people I don't know?"

"You know Shawn and River."

"And he wasn't planning on sending them."

"Being forced to do something you don't want to do is part of being in the military, Ian. You know that. We've gotten orders we haven't liked before."

"This one doesn't make sense, though," Ian said, leaning back in his chair. The fury was gone from his eyes and his expression – which Jack had figured would happen. He'd needed someone to blow up at, that was all – and better Jack than some little kid. "I'm not doing anyone any good here, and me learning how to deal with a fistful of six-year olds isn't going to save the world."

"You saved that little girl…"

"She was down there because of me in the first place," Ian told him. "Looking for that stupid fucking rock…"

Which was what Jack had heard, too, although he hadn't thought Ian had known.

"I heard about the story you told them…"

Ian shook his head.

"All the more reason to just let me go home. This is some kind of bad joke, Jack. I have no more business being here with all these kids than a porcupine in a balloon factory."

O'Neill smiled, even though he knew Ian was serious.

"It's not that bad, Ian. You did a good job fixing it with the whole pet rock thing."

"And look where _that_ got us…"

"That wasn't _your_ fault. Libby's counselors should have been watching her."

That much was true, and Ian knew it.

"For that matter," Jack said, shrugging. "The ground there wasn't safe, so the guys that dug out that new lagoon and didn't shore up the area around it are just as responsible as you – more so, even."

Ian still didn't look convinced, but Jack knew that there was no sense beating that particular horse to death. Ian was smart enough to go back and think about it later, and Jack knew he'd come to the same conclusion.

"The food isn't bad here."

Ian shook his head.

"It's ok."

It was actually better than just okay – better than Ian usually had, since he tended to eat out a lot instead of suffering with his own sub-par cooking.

"The kids don't smell."

"No."

"The other counselors seem nice."

"They're okay."

"It probably wouldn't kill you to stick around the last two days, you know…?"

Ian sighed.

"Fine."

"Sam and I are going to stay, too."

He looked up, surprised.

"Really?"

"Sure. We're already here, after all. No sense going home now. Besides, Fraiser says you're not as healthy as you think you are, so I'm going to fill in as an extra counselor in Australia."

"Then why can't I just-"

"But you have to _stay_," Jack interrupted. "Your boys are worried about you – poor Sammy thinks you're dead and we're just hiding it from him. They need to see you and be reassured."

Ian sighed, again. Now he just looked tired – and defeated.

"Fine."

"Be nice to them, okay?" Jack said, hearing the final gurgle of the coffee pot that told him it was finished brewing. "It's not _their_ fault you're not happy here."

That much was true, and Ian knew it.

"Fine." He'd try. "But I'm _not_ singing at campfire."

Jack smiled. He didn't expect miracles.

"Want a cup of coffee?"

"Sure."

"Stay put, I'll get it."


	76. 76

As Jack was pouring a cup of coffee for each of them, the door to the cafeteria opened. The large black lab that entered the room first gave testimony to the fact that Sam was awake and up and around. Even as Jaffer gave a joyous wag of his tail and rushed over to greet Jack, whuffling him happily, Sam walked through the still open door, holding a somewhat fussy Jake in one hand and looking just a little concerned. Immediately following her was Janet, who also looked a little concerned.

Jack smiled, reassuring her and Janet both that all was well. He gave Jaffer a quick hello, ruffling the lab's ears before straightening up and handing Sam the cup of coffee he'd just poured as he took Jacob from her.

"Hey Grumpy Baby," he said, cuddling Jake under his chin. "What are you so cranky about?"

The infant gurgled once or twice, making noises that had nothing to do with answering his father, and then fell to gnawing on Jack's neck.

"Good morning," Sam said, smiling as well. She took an appreciative sip of the coffee, and glanced over at Ian, who looked half-asleep at the table he was sitting at. "Everything okay?"

Since the question was asked softly enough that only Jack and Jake heard it, he nodded but didn't go into a lengthy discussion about what had happened.

"It's fine, Sam. How'd you sleep?"

"Wonderful. The beds in the nurse's cabin are about as comfortable as the one at home."

Jack scowled, and as Janet walked over he handed her the cup of coffee he'd poured for Ian.

"Don't rub it in, or I'll let _you_ sleep in Australia with the boys and _I'll_ keep Jake and Jaffer company in the comfortable bed."

Sam's smile showed she was hardly concerned, and she picked up another cup, pouring coffee for Jack, while Jaffer trotted over and stuck his nose in Ian's side, drawing the cadet's attention to him. Which was all it ever took for Ian to give Jaffer some loving, since the New Yorker was almost as fond of Jaffer as he was of his own lab, Bubba. For the first time since he'd entered the room, his smile was truly genuine and cheerful, and as he rubbed Jaffer's ears and neck, scratching just the right places, he couldn't help but feel just a little less beat up on.

"Hey Big Dog," Ian crooned. "What are you doing up so early?"

"He's looking for attention," Sam said, coming over and sitting down beside Ian and sliding a cup of coffee in front of him. "With Jacob getting most of mine, he has to go beg for it everywhere else."

Ian slapped Jaffer's side affectionately and was rewarded with a swipe of the lab's tongue that he couldn't dodge in time.

"How do you feel?" Sam asked as he wiped his cheek.

Still looking relatively cheerful, Ian shrugged.

"I'm fine, Sam."

She didn't look convinced. She reached out a hand and brushed it lightly against his forehead, careful to avoid the bruising above his eye from where he hit the tree.

"You feel a little warm."

"I'm not," he said, pulling away from her reach. It wasn't an annoyed reaction, just his way of telling her he didn't want to be cuddled and mothered just then. He was resigned to being stuck at the camp, but he wasn't quite ready to socialize. Not even with Sam. Just Jaffer, who didn't want anything more from him than a belly rub.

"Actually," Janet said, sitting down with a cup of coffee as well. "He's been cold ever since he woke up."

"Fevered?" Sam asked.

"No. I checked."

Ian scowled. She'd checked more than _once_.

"I'm fine," Ian said, shrugging once more. He didn't want Sam worrying about him.

He was fairly well bundled up, though, Sam decided. The sweatshirt was warm and hooded – although the hood wasn't up – and his hands had gone into the pockets as soon as he'd stopped petting Jaffer.

"He's not _fine_," Janet said, taking a sip of her coffee. "But he will be. Until then, he's on limited activity for the rest of the week."

Which was better than being stuck in bed, Ian knew. Which was why he hadn't argued about it.

"We'll talk to Gary," Jack said, rubbing Jacob's back lightly. The baby had turned his head and was watching Ian as he gnawed on Jack. "He can be the official scorekeeper when we play games or something…"

Ian scowled, which made Sam smile. She reached over and rested her hand on his arm.

"Or you could help me watch Jake," she teased.

He snorted, despite his lousy mood, and there was a ghost of a smile on his face. Instead of answering, though, he just took a sip of his coffee, glad for the warmth, because there was a chill in the very middle of him that he just couldn't get rid of.

Before anyone else could say anything, however, the door to the cafeteria opened once more, and a little head peeked into the cafeteria. Blonde hair tousled from sleep – sticking up on one side and flat on the other – Sammy looked around sleepily, his hand on the door. It actually took him a long minute to realize what he was seeing, but then his eyes widened.

"_Ian_!"

The little boy darted across the room and threw himself into Ian's arms, hugging him tight. To Janet's utter surprise, Ian actually pulled the boy into his lap, holding him as Sammy squeezed him tightly. His eyes were unreadable, but there wasn't the resigned scowl the doctor had expected to see. She looked over at Jack, who winked at Sam with a smug expression on his face. Sam hid her smile in her coffee cup, while Sammy pulled back just enough to be able to look at Ian – although he was still on his lap and still had a had clutching Ian's sweatshirt as if to make sure that he couldn't escape. The boy's cheeks were smeared with tears, although there was a broad smile on his face.

"You're alive!"

Ian snorted again. He'd thought Jack was just coming up with a story to guilt-trip him into staying, but it was obvious Sammy really had been worried.

"I'm alive," he agreed. "Are you _supposed_ to be down here?"

Which wasn't the sweetest greeting Janet could think of, but it was better than what might have been.

Sammy wasn't hurt. He nodded.

"We're out of toilet paper. River sent me to find Gary to ask for some."

"He's not in here."

"I know."

Sammy _knew_. But he wasn't ready to continue his search. Not even with River stuck on the pot waiting for him to return to the cabin. He leaned against Ian, tucking his head up under his chin, and Ian held him for a minute, scowling at the expressions on the faces of those around the table watching. The little kid was warm, that was all. It had nothing to do with affection. Well… maybe a little.

"Libby said you hit your head and was bleeding…" Sammy said, his voice muffled by Ian's sweatshirt. "I thought you bleeded to death or something…"

"Bled to death," Ian corrected, automatically. "And I didn't. I'm fine."

"Are you staying?" Sammy asked, pulling back once more to look up at Ian, his eyes filled with hope. "Libby's mom and dad almost wouldn't let her stay. Will yours?"

He gave a purely mental sigh, knew that he was going to take crap from Fraiser and the others for the rest of his life for the next words, but he just couldn't help himself. Asshole or not, Ian wasn't immune to Sammy's big eyes any more than anyone else was.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."


	77. 77

_Author's Note: Ian's in Jack's chain of command – since right now he's assigned to the SGC and SG-1 in particular – and normally Jack wouldn't put up with him blowing up like that without at least calling him on the language. This time, though, I wrote that Jack had deliberately goaded Ian into getting angry, and I didn't think Jack would reprimand Ian for swearing when it was his fault the guy was so mad. Thanks for reviewing, guys!_

OOOOOOOO

Yeah, _that_ did it. Ian could see it immediately. Jack suddenly had a big dumb grin on his face that he was doing a shitty job of hiding, Fraiser's face was shocked, and Sam looked weepy-eyed. He scowled, and dumped Sammy off his lap so he could stand up.

"Come on," Ian said, avoiding looking at any of them since he was sure they were all going to start commenting on what he'd said – something he could do with out. "Let's go to the cabin."

"We gotta get _toilet paper_," Sammy said, not at all upset at Ian for getting up. All he knew was that Ian was staying. "River's waiting…"

Ian nodded. As much as he was amused by the fact that it was _Hayden_ who was waiting – and he might have left him waiting even longer, just because it was _him_ – he knew _he_ was going to need that toilet paper eventually, too, so that was going to be their first stop.

"Good idea, Ian," Jack said, nodding. "Make sure everyone's awake, will you?"

"Yeah."

Jaffer trotted out of the room with Ian and Sammy, the little boy talking excitedly to Ian about all the activities that he'd missed, his hand holding Ian's firmly, and Janet and Sam both looked at Jack.

"What did you say to him?"

Jack shrugged.

"Just stuff."

"It worked," Janet said, impressed.

Jack just shrugged again, and decided to change the subject. He wouldn't want people talking about him behind his back – although Ian probably expected it.

"Are you sticking around for the rest of the week?" He asked Fraiser.

She nodded.

"I might as well – although Cassie's going to be disappointed that she missed the chance to be here."

"Where is she?"

"She was spending the night at a friend's when we left – and I think it was going to be an extended stay… maybe a couple of days. She's trying to get as much time with her friends as she can before she goes away to school."

"Understandable," Sam said.

Janet nodded.

"I remember doing the same thing before I went to school."

"Spending time with your _brontosaurus_?" Jack teased.

The doctor smiled.

"I'll remind you, _Colonel_, that you're older than I am…"

"No I'm not."

"Yes, you are," Sam said.

"You two just think that I am," he said, taking a sip of his coffee. "I lied on my birth certificate."

Janet snorted, and the conversation turned to the schedule for the day – what little Jack had seen.

OOOOOOOOO

"And _then_ we drew a picture of some dogs playing poker," Sammy said, excitedly as he, Ian and Jaffer went towards the part of the building that held Gary Hines' office. "It looked pretty good – Shawn said someone thought they looked like water camels or something, but _I_ think we did good – _and_ we got credit for it. _And_ I used my elephant key chain that my gramma gave me to hold my house key and we got credit for _that_, too. _And_ we took a pillow, _and_ we had to have a barrette, but none of _us_ had one, so River went over to one of the girl groups that were running around and brought us one back really quick. And _then_ we-"

"Ian!"

As they were coming around the corner, Gary Hines was coming the opposite direction and he found them before they found him. "How are you feeling?"

Ian nodded a greeting, grateful for a respite from Sammy's constant chatter.

"I'm fine."

"Are you back for the rest of camp?"

"Yeah."

"Good!"

Gary looked like he wanted to ask more questions – or maybe discuss Ian's health a little more, but Sammy was there and the Camp Director didn't think that injuries were really something that needed to be discussed with children in the vicinity – and he would never have hurt the boy's feelings by asking him to go away.

"We need _toilet paper_," Sammy said into the slight pause. "River's stuck on the-"

Gary smiled, and held up a hand to stop him.

"It's in the closet over there, Sammy. Will you guys ring the wake up bell for me when you go back to the cabin?"

Ian nodded.

"Sure."

"Thanks. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

It was morning and he had several things to do, but mostly, he wanted to find one of the medical staff and make sure that Ian was really okay – since the young man looked worn out and rather beat up. Even more than he had _before_ the incident with Libby and the washout.

"Sure."

With Sammy in the lead, they headed for the closet Gary had pointed to, while Hines headed for the cafeteria, figuring (correctly) that that was where everyone would end up congregating for their first cup of coffee before starting the day.

OOOOOOOO

"And _then_ we had to find a feather – but at least we didn't have to find the piece of hair, because I wasn't going to let them have any of _my_ hair, and Chance's hair is too short – and so is _Brian's_ – so we wouldn't have been able to get that unless River talked one of the girls out of it – _he_ seems pretty good at that kind of thing, you know? I wouldn't have-"

"Sammy…"

Ian's head was killing him. Maybe from the activity – even what little walking he was doing was more than he'd done the last couple of days – but most likely it was from the nonstop talking.

The little boy hushed immediately.

"Huh?"

"Why don't you run up ahead and ring the bell for Gary?"

His face lit up. He'd assumed that Ian was going to ring it, since Gary had asked him – and who _wouldn't_ want to ring the bell?

"_Can_ I?"

"Why not?"

"Wow!"

The boy handed Ian the two rolls of toilet paper they taken from the closet, and then took off up the hill, Jaffer running behind him, excitedly, always willing to chase a little kid when given the opportunity.

Ian shook his head. He'd have to ask Fraiser for some aspirin – or maybe Mandy. Then he wouldn't have to deal with a barrage of questions about how he was feeling.

Yeah, right. He had a feeling he was going to be answering that question all day. Starting with the kids in the cabin, probably.


	78. 78

When Sammy rang the bell Ian was glad that he wasn't all that close to it. The little boy rang the bell tentatively at first, but with typical enthusiasm once he really got it going, and the peals of the bell rang out through the sleepy camp far longer than what was probably necessary to make sure all the campers were actually awake.

Ian didn't mind, though. He'd done the same thing when he'd been the one ringing the bell, so he could understand. He finally waved to Sammy – who had been watching him while he'd been ringing it – to tell him to stop, and the boy came running over to the cabin porch.

"Pretty good, huh?"

Ian nodded.

"Couldn't have done better myself."

Sammy beamed.

They went into the cabin, and found that all the boys were wide awake. They were even more or less dressed – proving to Ian that they'd been awake longer than just the minute between then and when Sammy had rung the bell.

"Ian!"

As soon as he walked through the door and they realized who was there, Ian was rushed by the group, each of them trying to hug him while they all chattered excitedly.

"You're back!"

"I told you he wasn't dead."

"No, you didn't. You said-"

"Yes, I did!"

"What happened to your head, Ian?"

"Are you staying?"

"Hey! Jaffer!"

"What happened to-"

"Where's my toilet paper?"

This last one was a plaintive call from the bathroom, and Ian grinned – despite the fact that the kids were making his headache worse.

"Someone take this to Hayden," Ian said, tossing a roll of toilet paper to Brian, who was closest to the bathroom door. "Before he decides to use his hand – or worse, someone else's."

"Ewwwww!"

"That's gross!"

Shawn chuckled from the bunk he'd been stretched out on. Fully clothed and ready to go, he wasn't in any hurry to get up, even though he was glad to see Ian was up and around – and back.

"How are you feeling?" Shawn asked as Jaffer came over and whuffled him cheerfully.

Ian broke away from the boys, shooing them back to their bunks to finish getting dressed, although they were all still listening to him.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"You're limping." Shawn made it a question.

"Not much."

"Did you hurt your leg?"

"Just my knee – and it'll be okay."

At least it wasn't broken.

"Good."

"You okay?"

Shawn nodded, gesturing to the cast on his ankle – which had a couple dozen signatures on it.

"I've never broken anything before… but it's not too bad."

Of course he'd never broken anything before, Ian thought as he went over and leaned against the bunk near Shawn's. Not with a mother who could heal in a heartbeat – and do it far more effectively than Ian, who hadn't been born with the ability. It made him wonder, though, if Shawn could heal – or ever would be able to. He wasn't full Ancient, after all – and maybe it was an ability that didn't always breed through. Who knew? Not Ian – and he wasn't about to bring up the topic with Shawn. Maybe later, when Dotty's death wasn't so fresh…

"Well, now that you have, you can join the broken bone club," Ian said.

"Sounds exciting."

"Oh yeah… secret handshake, membership card…the works."

Shawn grinned.

"Have you seen Jack?"

"Yeah. He's down at the cafeteria with Sam and Frasier."

"Is Janet staying?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"Hey! Look what the cat dragged in!"

Ian turned and saw River coming out of the bathroom, a big grin on his tanned face.

"Hey, look who finally wiped his-"

"Ian."

Shawn interrupted that particular greeting, reminding Ian that there were more people in the room than just the three of them – they weren't in their dorm room, after all.

River laughed, walking over. The Californian was wearing a pair of tan cargo shorts – normal enough – and a brilliant orange Hawaiian print shirt that was unbuttoned, showing bare chest and stomach, which was just as tanned as his face.

"How are you doing?"

"Fine."

"Good! The boys missed you."

There were clamors of agreement to that, and Ian couldn't help but feel just a little warm and fuzzy at the sincerity in the little faces. He scowled, though, unwilling to turn the reunion into a mush fest.

"Adams? Why don't you head down to the cafeteria now, so you don't get trampled when the breakfast bell rings? Jack already has a table for us."

Shawn smiled, knowing that Ian wasn't going to acknowledge the boys' excitement to have him back.

"That's not a bad idea." He looked at his watch. "When will it ring?"

"Twenty minutes."

Ian hadn't looked at the schedule recently, but he still knew what it said.

"What's for breakfast, Ian?" Chad asked. The boys had already decided that Ian knew everything, since he could always answer their schedule questions.

"I smelled bacon."

"Which means French toast," Shawn said. He, of course, had been to camp long enough to know that when Jared made bacon it was almost always on French toast mornings.

"I'm starving," Brian said.

"Me, too!" Wilson agreed.

"Me, three!"

"Me, four!"

"Me-"

"Finished getting dressed, guys," Ian said, interrupting them.

"While you're doing that," River said, moving over to find his shoes. "You can tell Ian all about the scavenger hunt that he missed yesterday."

"It was great!" Chance said, excitedly. "We had to find all sorts of things, and we got points for them, and we had to go in order of what was on the list or they didn't-"

"And we had to find an elephant!" Wilson added.

"_Sammy_ had one, though," Bruce said. "We had to get a horseshoe, too, and a-

"And a feather!"

"And a picture of dogs playing poker!"

The list went on and on, and Ian had already heard it all from Sammy, but he didn't stop them. There wasn't any point in telling them that he already knew, and if they weren't yelling at him about that then they'd just be blathering on about something else – or asking him questions or something. This way all he had to do was nod every now and then – and that wasn't so terrible. But breakfast couldn't come soon enough – and not just because he was hungry.


	79. 79

By the time the breakfast bell rang, the boys had pretty much recovered from having Ian back. They weren't quite so high strung, and aside from Sammy, they weren't being clingy – which was good, because Ian could only handle so much of that. Especially when he was feeling like he was.

When the bell rang, the boys bolted for the door, and then scrambled down the hill at a run, leaving Ian, River and Sammy to walk at amore sedate pace, with Jaffer right beside Ian, his nose every now and then touching the New Yorker's hand. Ian didn't mind; he liked having Jaffer so close – even though the lab couldn't take care of his aches like he could Jack's. Dogs were just comforting, that was all. Big dogs, anyways – not yappy dogs – and labs were the best of all of them as far as Ian was concerned.

As they headed for the cafeteria, it turned out to be Justas well that Jaffer's steadying support was there, because Ian found himself surrounded once more – this time by the rest of the campers and some of the counselors.

"_Ian_! You're back!"

"Ian!"

"Wow! Your head looks bad!"

"How come you're limping?"

"Can I pet Jaffer?"

"Ian!"

The kids were nonstop yelling questions and comments and they were crowding up against him until he, River and Sammy couldn't move without worrying about tripping over someone and taking a fall. Jaffer rumbled, pressed against Ian's leg. It wasn't a warning rumble; these were _children_, after all, and Jaffer loved kids – way more than Ian did. He was just making noises.

Ian, on the other hand, was losing patience with the whole deal rather quickly, and might have actually snapped at someone if they hadn't been rescued at that moment.

"Hey guys, back up and give them some room!"

The voice came from behind them, and Ian turned and saw Hank walking down the hill with a couple of his boys.

The kids crowding Ian and the others did as they were told –and the few counselors in the small group flushed slightly, chagrined at the fact that they'd been acting the same way their kids had been. But since no one had known Ian's status, they'd been just as surprised to have him back so suddenly as their campers were.

Since Sammy and Jaffer were flanking Ian, Hank stopped beside River as the others headed into the cafeteria.

"Good to have you back, Ian."

"Thanks."

He couldn't imagine why.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Ian had had enough of twenty questions, and he could see that Hank was gearing up to ask more, so he took the initiative. "Come on, Sammy. We need to get inside."

"Bye, Hank," Sammy said, smiling as Ian put a hand on his back and ushered him into the building, Jaffer still at heel beside Ian. Hank's boys followed as well. Like all boys, they were starving and more than ready for breakfast.

Hank turned to River.

"Is _he_ mad at me?"

The Californian grinned.

"Why would he be?"

"I don't know… he was pretty short…"

River shrugged.

"Don't take it personally; you got more of a conversation out of him than I usually do. Come on, let's go eat."

OOOOOOO

Ian had just enough time to see that the cafeteria was almost filled when he suddenly found himself buffeted one more time.

"_Ian_!"

Libby's sore legs didn't allow her to rush up to him, but she did limp over quickly, and she threw herself against him, her arms coming around his hips as she hugged him tightly.

Embarrassed by the display – and well aware that everyone in the room was watching – Ian patted her back awkwardly. She looked up at him, her adorable little face smeared with happy tears.

"I _knew_ you'd come back."

He ran his fingers through her silky hair, easily remembering when it had been caked with mud and blood, and tried to act nonchalant – even though he was feeling warm and gooey inside once more.

"Of course I'm back," he told her, turning her and guiding her to the table that held Ann and Danin, with Sammy still walking beside him and everyone still watching. "Eat your breakfast."

Ann rolled her eyes, unimpressed with Ian's greeting of the little girl, but she smiled when Libby sat down next to her once more, resting her hand lightly on her cheek and giving her the comfort that as far as _she_ was concerned, Ian should have given her.

Libby didn't mind. She _knew_ Ian liked her – he'd cuddled with her, after all, when she'd needed him the most, and who had found her when she'd been lost? _Ian_. She wasn't upset that he didn't have time right then to be with her. It was breakfast time, after all, and he was probably hungry. _She_ was hungry, too!

Gary interrupted whatever else might have been said or done. The camp director came up to his usual spot, smiling broadly to see that all his campers and counselors were back where they belonged – at camp.

"Good morning, campers!" He called, cheerfully.

"Good morning!"

"Well, as you can see, we're all here again. The sun's shining bright, and it's going to be a great day, so when we're done with breakfast I'll have some announcements to hand out."

There were cheers at that, because there was no way they weren't going to go back to outside activities with such a nice day on the horizon, and the kids were ready to swim, ride and play!

"Let's eat!" Gary said, turning as Jared's cooking staff started loading up the serving table with plates of bacon and French toast.

Again there were cheers, and then the room was filled with conversations as each table chose its runners and started discussing what activities they might be doing that day.

OOOOOOOOOOO

At the almost empty staff stable, Sam couldn't help but smile. Unlike Ann, Sam – and Janet, who was seated right beside her – both knew that Ian had pretty much done his best with Libby. He hadn't pushed her away, and he hadn't even said a single bad word. Even when he knew he was the center of attention. Not even an annoyed scowl. For him, that was a huge concession.

"That wasn't so bad," Janet said softly to Sam.

"Nope. Next thing you know, he'll be sitting around the campfire singing _Kumbaya_," Sam said, scratching Jaffer, who came over to whuffle Jake since Jack was too busy with the kids he was sitting with to give the lab the attention Jaffer was certain he deserved.

Janet snorted.


	80. 80

As far as meals went, breakfast that morning seemed even noisier than normal. The kids were in high spirits – especially the boys from Australia – and were looking forward to a full day of outdoor activities. They were chattering at every table, each wondering what their cabin was going to do that morning for their activity, and speculating on what they'd be doing the rest of the day as well. Australia was no different; the boys were trying to figure out what they were going to do – since all the schedule said was 'individual cabin activities', and that didn't really tell them much.

"I hope we're swimming!" Chance said, spraying Wilson and Chad with bacon in his excitement.

"Me, too!"

"Or skiing!"

"Yeah. That'd be cool, huh, River?"

River grinned.

"Yup."

"You know how to ski, River?" Brian asked, interested.

"Sure."

"River can do _anything_ in the water," Wilson said, loyally.

"Can _you_ ski, Ian?" Chad asked.

"Ian can do anything, too," Chance said, just as loyally.

Ian had been concentrating more on eating than anything else, although he'd been listening to the conversation while stuffing himself with French toast and bacon. Now he looked up, and shrugged.

"I've tried it."

River looked over, still smiling.

"Wiped out?"

"You haven't?"

"Never."

"Bull-"

"Ian." Jack interrupted, reminding him that they weren't alone.

"-ony."

River's smile broadened to a shit-eating grin, and Shawn chuckled, well aware of what the New Yorker had been planning to say. Even the kids laughed, although they had no idea why it was so funny. The only one not smiling at the table was Sammy, who had lost his enthusiasm the minute they'd mentioned doing water activities.

"Maybe we're hiking," Bruce said, hopefully. He'd been looking forward to a nature walk, and they hadn't had one yet.

"Or canoeing!"

"Or sailing!"

Yes, the opportunities seemed endless now that the sun was out once more and the entire camp was open to the campers once more.

Ian glanced over at Sammy, realizing he hadn't said anything, and noticed that same fear lurking in his eyes. He considered saying something to reassure him – it wasn't like anyone was going to force the kid into doing something he didn't want to, after all – but before he could, Gary Hines rose from his spot at the staff table, where he'd been chatting with Sam.

The kids noticed immediately, of course, and the room silenced almost immediately. Gary smiled, well aware that they were all eager to find out what they were doing.

"Okay, campers!" He looked down at the paper in his hand – the schedule – and then back at the kids, who were all watching excitedly. "This morning when we're done eating, you're all going to go back to your cabins and clean them up a bit…"

There were groans of dismay; this was not what they wanted to hear. Especially the kids who were especially messy.

Gary's smile widened. He couldn't have them going out to their various activities right after breakfast, after all. Otherwise, they'd be cramping up in the water, or throwing up on the ponies from motion sickness and who knew what else?

"After that, the bell is going to ring," he said, nodding to his assistant, who came around and handed one counselor at each table a paper. "When it rings, you'll be dismissed to your morning activity. Because of the rain, we've had to change things around a little, so your counselors are getting a list of which activity each cabin can choose from…"

He waited for the murmuring to subside as each of the tables craned to see what the paper in their counselor's hand said.

"There will be different activities later, so don't panic if you don't get to do whatever one you wanted – and don't start trying to decide which one you want to do just yet. You can figure that out once you get to your cabins. Okay?"

There were assorted groans and more murmuring, but none of the kids objected. They were all too curious about what was on their particular lists.

River had been handed the paper for Australia, but before any of the kids – or Jack – could sneak a look at their options, he folded it and put it in his pocket, which caused even more groans from the kids at his table. They were pretty certain they were going to die from anticipation.

"Okay, campers," Gary said. "Finish eating, clear your dishes and head on up to your cabins!"

Now the room erupted in excited buzzing as each table tried to get their counselor to tell them what was on their list. Ian kept eating while the boys of Australia tried to bribe River with everything from cleaning his stuff to making his bed to get him to tell them what was on the list. The Californian just grinned, though, and started stacking dishes. He had lots of experience antagonizing little kids by keeping secrets from them – he had a ton of little sisters, after all, and had teasing them down to an art form. He'd already figured out that girls were the same as boys when it came to that.

When the dishes were stacked as neatly as six-year-olds could stack, River and Jack headed up to the cabin with the boys, giving Ian and Shawn a chance to go as slowly as they needed to. Ian reached out, though, and put a hand on River's arm before the Californian could head for the door. The boys kept running, followed by Jack, who only stopped long enough to tell Sam hi and make sure she didn't need anything.

"What are the choices?"

River grinned.

"Can't stand the wait?"

Ian scowled, in no mood to be teased himself, even though the hearty breakfast had helped ease his headache.

"I was thinking more of Sammy."

"Ah." River shrugged. "Canoeing, sailing and skiing…" he said. "Not something Sammy's going to want to do, huh?"

"And there's no way the other kids are going to turn down a chance at the ski boat," Shawn said, having come up to listen in on the conversation.

"And no reason they should," Ian agreed. "Not just for one kid."

As much as the other two hated to agree with that seemingly callous statement, they both did.

"I can't go on a boat," Shawn said. "Not with my cast. He can hang out with me, instead."

"Doing what?" River asked.

"I don't know."

"He liked the riding," Ian said.

"I can't ride right now," Shawn protested.

"I can, though, and I'd rather ride than do anything water related right now, anyways."

"Are you sure?" Shawn asked. "I don't mind-"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Ian looked over at River. "Unless _you'd_ rather take him riding?"

Now it was River's turn to scowl.

"I'm still waiting for my testicles to drop from the last time…"

Ian snorted, amused.

"Adams can play Popeye with you and the boys. I'll go find out who has riding as an option and invite myself along."

"Sounds like a plan. You don't need feet for sailing, anyways – or for riding in a ski boat."

"We'll meet you back at the cabin," Shawn said.

Ian nodded.

"I won't be long."


	81. 81

"We haven't done this in a long time…"

Shawn ducked his head to avoid being brained by the boom, and then looked over at Jack, who was sprawled in the stern of their little sailboat, idly managing the sail and tiller while soaking up some sun.

"We wouldn't be able to do it now if not for the fact that River has all the kids…"

Jack smiled.

"He had to know that those boys were going to want to ski – and God knows I can't."

"You've tried?" Shawn asked, surprised.

Jack shook his head.

"Nah."

Shawn leaned back in the bow, enjoying the warmth of the day and the quiet time with Jack – which was so rare for the two of them. His casted foot was propped up on the side of the little boat, and he'd had quite a lecture from Doctor Fraiser before he and Jack had gone out about getting that cast wet. Enough of a lecture that he knew she meant it when she'd said it'd be a hassle to put a new one on if he ruined that one. Which made him try to be a little more careful.

"I'd like to try it some time."

"Don't break your leg next time, then."

"Hey!"

They both looked over and saw Sam and Janet Fraiser sailing close to them, Janet holding Jake – who was bundled in a life jacket (just in case, even though the day was calm) – and Sam managing the tiller and sails expertly.

"What?" Jack yelled back.

"Wanna play America Cup?" Sam asked. Shawn could see her smile even from the distance between them.

Jack snorted.

"You wouldn't have a chance."

Which of course was all it took for the gauntlet to be thrown, Shawn knew.

Sure enough, Sam's smile grew.

"Twice around the lagoon, _Colonel_," she challenged. "Losers sing a solo at campfire tonight."

Shawn frowned.

"Jack…"

"You're on, _Major_!"

Awww, man…

Shawn groaned, causing Jack to look over at him.

"What?"

"Do you _really_ want to sing at campfire?" Shawn asked him.

"We're not going to lose, Shawn," Jack said, confidently.

"She always wins."

Sam was a much better sailor than Jack was, Shawn knew from experience. Even with the little boats at the camp.

"Then it must be our turn."

"It doesn't work like that, Jack."

"Sure it does."

Uh huh. Shawn knew better. He watched with resignation as Sam brought her little boat closer to theirs, close enough that Shawn could see the triumphant grin on both women's faces. Even Jake somehow looked smug – although it could have just been seasickness. Yeah, they were _so_ not going to win.

"No cutting corners," Sam warned Jack.

He gave her an innocent look.

"Would I do that?"

Sam looked over at Shawn.

"Keep him honest, Shawn."

He smiled back – despite the fact that he was going to be singing in front of campfire tonight – even if Jack did manage to cheat – but before he could reply, Jack interrupted.

"Mark, set, _go_!"

And as if someone up there was listening, there was suddenly a gentle gust of wind that filled their sails. They were off.

OOOOOOOOO

"Now don't fall off."

Sammy shook his head, looking up at Ian, who was riding beside him.

"I won't."

To prove this, he tightened his grip on his reins and shifted in the saddle to get a more secure seat.

The little pony he was riding snorted slightly, unused to being off the string like she normally was, but willing to do whatever she was asked. Ian was watching closely from his perch on Laptop, but he didn't have anything to correct. Sammy knew how to ride – if he didn't, the wranglers never would have allowed him to ride point with Ian instead of in the string with the girls from Romania – and the pony was behaving perfectly.

"Good. I'm not sure I can drag my ass back up into my saddle if I have to stop and pick you up off the ground."

Sammy grinned.

"You cussed."

Ian scowled; he hadn't even realized it.

"Ass isn't really a swear word. It's another name for a donkey."

"I don't see a donkey in your saddle…" Sammy pointed out.

Ian's scowl deepened, but it only made the little boy smile.

"Just don't tell anyone."

"Okay. I can tell them we went _riding_ though, right?"

Ian shrugged.

"They already know, but yeah, you can."

"How come they didn't want to come?"

When Ian had joined the others at the cabin after breakfast, he'd simply pulled Sammy aside and told him that there were a couple of extra spots in the riding group if he wanted to go riding with him. The boy had jumped at it, of course – especially since everyone else had been yelling about going skiing and riding in the ski boat.

"Because they like wedgies," Ian said.

"Huh?"

Ian looked down at Sammy.

"Have you ever tried skiing? Water skiing, I mean?"

He was pretty sure of that answer before he even asked. Sure enough, Sammy shook his head.

"If you wipe out, you do a belly flop that can be heard three states away. When you're getting up on the skis, the water pushes your shorts so far up your – well… you get a wedgie. A nasty one."

Sammy grinned again, and patted his pony's neck.

"This is better than that."

"Much. Although I _do_ like the water. Just don't tell River I said that."

Sammy lost his smile.

"I don't."

"Don't what?" Ian asked, looking down at him. He had a feeling he knew, but figured he might as well ask.

"Like the water."

"Why not?"

Sammy shrugged, not looking at Ian, but watching the ground instead.

"I just don't."

Now it was Ian's turn to shrug.

"It's not for everyone. Just like riding isn't for everyone. Nothing wrong with that."

Sammy looked up at him, a surprised expression on his face – s if he'd expected Ian to give him a lecture about not being afraid of the water.

"Really?"

"Sure. River doesn't like to ride, does he?"

"No."

"You still like him, don't you?"

Sammy smiled.

"Yeah."

"There you go. You don't have to like everything the people around you like, you know?"

"Really?"

"Yup."

"And no one will care?"

Ian shrugged.

"Not if they're your friends. And if they're not, who gives a shit what _they_ think?"

"You cussed again."

"I think there's something wrong with your ears…"

Sammy grinned, but by the slightly distracted look on his face, it was obvious that he was thinking about what Ian had said more than the naughty word he'd heard.


	82. 82

"The hardest part of skiing is actually getting out of the water."

The boys listened excitedly as the driver of the ski boat – a man who introduced himself as Ernie – started explaining to them how to ski. They were all standing on the dock the ski boat was docked beside, wearing swimming trunks and glancing occasionally at the boat, or the skis inside it as Ernie continued his quick lesson.

"The hardest part about getting out of the water when you're new at skiing is keeping your skis together."

River nodded his agreement. The Californian was wearing a pair of bright green shorts with orange flowers splotched liberally around them and a smile on his face. He was looking forward to watching the boys try their hands at skiing.

"So…" Ernie continued, stepping into the boat and reaching for a special pair of water skis; these were short enough for the boys to use, but more importantly, the two skis had a couple of ropes attached to them, holding them about a foot apart. "To keep you from spreading your skis – and consequently wiping out and giving yourselves some serious wedgies…" he paused as the boys laughed. "We have _these_ skis, which should make things a lot easier for you – although it's still not easy."

The boys nodded, and Ernie smiled at their enthusiasm.

"Who wants to go first?"

Every hand shot up.

"You." Ernie pointed at Brian. "The rest of you can come along, since there aren't too many of you, and one of you can hold the flag." He held up a small plastic orange flag on a short stick. "Whenever we have someone in the water, we need to have the flag up. That tells other boaters that they need to watch out for someone bobbing around in the water so they don't run them over."

"But the other boaters are in the lagoon," Bruce said.

"They are _here_," Ernie agreed, "But if we were at a popular lake or a wide river, we'd have more people to contend with, and if you're going to learn, you might as well learn the right way right off the bat, right?"

"Right."

Ernie smiled, and gestured for them to get lifejackets on.

"Let's go, guys."

Chatting excitedly, the boys jumped in the boat and put on their jackets. This was going to be great!

OOOOOOOOOOO

It was as great as they'd thought it would be. Not all of them managed to get up – Ernie was right, it was harder than it looked – but to make up for the disappointment of not getting up, no matter how hard they tried, he allowed Chad and Bruce to actually drive the boat – which was even cooler. And all of them had a chance to be pulled behind the boat in inner tubes while Ernie did everything he could to make waves with the boat and knock them out.

Not surprisingly, River proved once more that there was one more thing on the water he was expert at. Once the boys had all had a chance to try skiing, Ernie had looked at River, and asked him if he wanted a go round. River had nodded, of course, and had reached for a ski.

"Don't you need two?" Chance asked.

River only grinned and shook his head.

"Not if you're good."

Ernie had smiled as well, and handed the flag to Wilson to hold while River jumped over the side of the boat and put his ski on.

"Now… Ernie won't be able to watch me," he told his boys. "So if you see me put my thumb up, that means I want him to go faster… if I put it down I want to go slower. You have to tell him for me, okay?"

The boys nodded, and Ernie maneuvered the boat so River's towrope was taut. A moment later he yelled for Ernie to go, and they took off with a roar.

Even the campers who were lounging on the other docks, or swimming under the watchful eyes of the lifeguards stopped to watch as River skied. He was definitely impressive – which didn't surprise anyone, really. The Californian had mentioned growing up on the water, and his easy manner with all things water pretty much proved it. When he skied, he went back and forth from side to side behind the boat, cutting so sharply that water would fly to impossible heights – at least it seemed that way to the boys. He also would end up almost parallel to the water, able to reach down in the middle of a turn and run his hand through the water, much to the delight of the boys watching.

All in all, by the time they were finished with their skiing and were docking the boat, the kids were talking excitedly and wearing grins that River was pretty sure would cut their faces right in half any minute.

As they were taking off their lifejackets and thanking Ernie for teaching them, Jack O'Neill came out onto the docking, soaking wet and carrying Jake in his arm. He smiled at the boys.

"How'd it go?"

"Great!" Chance said, cheerfully. He'd been the first of the boys to get up on skis, and was proud of that accomplishment.

"They did good," River confirmed. He grinned at the baby in Jack's arm, and Jack handed him over without comment. Jake would let them know if he didn't want to be held by the Californian.

"Did you decide to go swimming?" Brian asked.

"Where's Shawn?" Wilson asked at the same moment. After all, they all knew that Jack and Shawn had decided to go sailing instead of ski.

"He's with Doctor Fraiser," Jack said. "He got his cast wet, so she has to put a new one on."

River looked up from cooing Jake – who was loving it – and frowned.

"How did he do that?"

"Sam capsized our sailboat."

"What?"

"Hey, don't listen to him." A new voice said from the end of the dock. They all turned and saw Sam coming towards them, wearing a lovely green swimming suit that showed off her newly acquired summer tan nicely. "He capsized it all by himself."

"No, I didn't," Jack protested, much to the delight of the boys watching. "We were racing, and she was going to lose, so she sabotaged us."

"What does that mean?" Wilson asked.

"She made it so we lost," Jack explained. "By ramming our boat, knocking Shawn overboard, and then tipping me when I was trying to help him back in."

Sam laughed.

"You guys don't believe that, do you?"

They all shook their heads, and she gave Jack a triumphant smile.

"Well, she did."

"He's just mad, because he and Shawn have to sing a song at campfire because they lost."

"No we don't."

"Yes, you do. You lost."

"You cheated."

Sam smiled and looked at the boys again.

"You guys don't believe I cheated, do you?"

Again they shook their heads.

"And you want to hear Shawn and Jack sing a song at campfire tonight, don't you?"

They all nodded.

Jack scowled, but it only made the boys giggle. They hadn't known him or Sam long, but they already had them both figured out.


	83. 83

The ride was fairly uneventful, and while Ian would have enjoyed it far more if he'd been by himself, at least he and Sammy were far enough ahead of the Romanian girls that they couldn't pester him. Sammy _wasn't_ terrible company, the New Yorker admitted. He didn't chatter nonstop; in fact, he was so intent on not falling off the pony and making sure that she was going where he wanted her to go that he didn't speak much at all. Which was fine as far as Ian was concerned.

The pony behaved perfectly. She was a steady little creature that didn't shy when a slight wind picked up about halfway through the ride and blew some leaves across their trail – although Laptop did, and it took Ian a minute to make sure the gelding wasn't going to try anything stupid.

Sammy grinned excitedly to see the horse rear a little and dance, but Ian had him under control with a quick curse and a gentle touch, and the rest of the ride went off without a hitch.

"That was great," the little boy said when they'd reached the corral and dismounted – still far enough ahead of the girls that they were able to pretend they weren't part of the group, even though they were.

Ian nodded, and stripped the saddles off their mounts before turning them loose in the corral. As he was doing this, the others were coming into view, and several of the girls shouted his name, waving excitedly.

Sammy scowled. He didn't like the girls paying so much attention to Ian when he'd only had him to himself for just a little while. Luckily, Ian was equally unwilling to get stuck hanging out with the girls – especially their counselors – so he just gave them a noncommittal wave and then looked down at the boy.

"Let's go see what the others are doing."

"They're probably still skiing," Sammy said as Ian gave the wranglers a wave of thanks and then the two of them headed for the camp. Sammy didn't hesitate at the thought of going to the water. He already knew that Ian wasn't going to make him get wet if he didn't want to – which he didn't.

"Maybe." Anything was better than being where they were, though. "We can watch them if they are."

"Okay."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

The first thing they saw when they reached the little hill behind the main building that headed for the waterfront was that the ski boat was docked. Which meant that the kids were done skiing. It wasn't hard to find them, though. River was standing on the diving board and his bright swimwear was a beacon that Ian was certain could be seen from the space station. Sure enough, Sammy spotted him immediately as well.

"There's River on the diving board."

"Yeah."

Now that they knew to look for the boys on the docks, Ian spotted not only all of the Australian boys and their counselors, but he also found Sam, Janet Fraiser and Jaffer – who was standing at the edge of the dock watching the boys intently, and probably just biding his time before he jumped in as well. Until he saw Ian coming, that is. Then he trotted down the dock and came over to meet him and Sammy as they made their way across the little beach, swarming the boy under with a cheerful greeting that combined a lot of tail wagging and whuffling.

"Let him up, Big Dog," Ian told Jaffer, smiling. Sammy might have been afraid of the water, but he had no problem at all letting Jaffer use him as a play toy. Confident that they'd follow – but not all that concerned if they didn't, since Jaffer wasn't going to let anything happen to Sammy while he was with him – Ian headed for the dock where Sam and Fraiser were stretched out, soaking up the sun.

"Ian!" Chance yelled, waving his hand frantically as the New Yorker walked onto the dock. "Watch!"

He ran out onto the diving board, looked over his shoulder to make sure Ian was still watching, and then did a front somersault off the board. It was ugly and he almost landed on his stomach, but for a kid who'd learned to swim only a couple of days before, it was pretty impressive, Ian had to admit.

Chance came up, his arms paddling the water in a sloppy doggie paddle and his grin about ready to split his face in two.

"Did you see it?"

Ian nodded.

"That was great, Chance."

The boy beamed, and paddled over to the side of the dock where Ian was standing.

"Are you coming swimming?"

"I'm not dressed for it."

He was in jeans and a t-shirt; dressed for riding, not for water.

The rest of the boys clamored around, too, all telling him about how they did skiing, and about how great River was at it. Ian sighed. So much for sitting on the dock and relaxing.

OOOOOOOOOO

Sam smiled as she watched the boys crowded around Ian, all talking at once and yelling to be heard over the others.

"Think we should rescue him?" she asked Janet, who was lounging beside her.

"He seems to be doing okay."

"He looks ready to push them all into the water." Or to simply drown himself.

Janet smiled, but she was actually watching the New Yorker far more intently than she appeared to be, looking for signs that would tell her that he was doing too much to soon. He looked a little tired, but only if you knew what to look for, and Janet decided that he'd just get annoyed if she tried to tell him to go a little slower, so she didn't say anything.

Jack came walking up to them just then as well. He'd been sunning on the other dock, with a fishing pole in one hand – although he hadn't been using a hook, so there was no chance that he'd get a bite if he'd have left the pole unattended.

"How was the ride?" he asked, breaking up the kids who had almost ringed themselves around Ian.

"Uneventful."

"How'd you manage that?"

"I didn't have _you_ anywhere near me."

Jaffer came trotting up just then, with Sammy trailing at a much slower pace, carefully walking in the exact center of the dock. Distracted, Ian reached down to scratch the lab's ears, and felt something hit him in the middle of his back. Overbalanced, he went into the water, and came up sputtering, turning around in the water to look up at the people on the dock.

It wasn't hard to figure out who had pushed him in; the boys were all grinning – except Sammy, who looked worried – but Jack had an innocent expression on his face that told Ian all he needed to know.

"Oops."


	84. 84

Ian pulled himself out of the water easily, still watching Jack to make sure he wasn't going to go back in with another 'accidental' push as he got back up onto the dock.

"Oops, huh?"

Jack spread his arms wide, giving him – and the others – his best what did I do look. None of them were fooled, although there were a lot of grins.

"I slipped."

"Uh huh."

Ian pulled his wet t-shirt off, dropping it to the dock before heading towards Jack.

"_You're_ going to go in, old man…"

The boys grinned. This was going to be _great_!

River stepped forward, though, a huge grin on his deeply tanned face.

"Wait a minute…"

"Better move, Hayden," Ian told him. "Or you'll go in, too…"

The words were serious, but even the kids knew that Ian wasn't at all angry.

"Wait, Ian," River said, putting his hand on Ian's chest to hold him back. "There's only one way to settle this…"

"Yeah? What?"

"Camel Fights."

The boys reacted immediately.

"Yeah!"

"Camel Fights!"

Janet looked over at Sam.

"Camel Fight?"

Sam smiled.

"You didn't ever do Camel Fights when you were younger?"

"No."

"They're water fights. You get a couple of people in the water with people on their shoulders, and they try to knock each other off and into the water. Last one standing wins."

While Sam was explaining this, the boys were already dividing into groups – all of them except Sammy, that is. He came over and sat down beside Sam, watching as Ian picked Chance as his partner, Jack grabbed Bruce, and River took Brian. Wilson and Chad partnered up, saying that they'd done this a million times and bragging that they'd never been beat.

"Grant needs a partner," Ian said, looking over at the boy. He glanced at Sammy, but knew that the boy wouldn't want to play. His gaze fell on Janet, and he grinned. "Doctor Fraiser? Care to try?"

Janet looked at him suspiciously.

"You're just looking for a chance to get back at me…"

"Would I do that?"

Janet frowned.

"Yes."

"You're not scared of a few _little boys_ are you?"

Ha. He knew what buttons to push, didn't he?

Janet sighed, and stood up.

"You'd better not pick on me, Mr. Brooks, or I'll find the biggest needle in my bag and give you a shot you won't soon for- _hey_!"

Her threat was cut off when Ian pushed her into the water, and Sam laughed, shaking her head as she looked up at Ian.

"You're a brave man…"

He nodded.

"I have to take the opportunities when they present themselves, Sam."

He pulled his shoes off and handed her his wallet – which was soaked.

"It's your funeral."

"I'll be fine."

He went over and jumped into the water, wading over to where Chance was waiting for him and hefting the boy up onto his shoulders. The others were already in position – even Janet, who found it a bit difficult to walk around with a little boy squirming on her shoulders as he tried to get her to get into a position where they'd be able to reach the others.

Chance climbed easily onto Ian's shoulders, and the New Yorker looked at River, who looked the most comfortable. Of course, he was stronger, and he was part fish, so that probably had something to do with it. When River saw Ian was ready, he yelled go, and the battle was on, with kids screaming happily, and water splashing everywhere.

Sam looked at Sammy, who was still watching the water fight; an unreadable expression on his little face.

"You don't want to play?"

Sammy shook his head, silently.

She reached out and put her hand on his forehead.

"You're not sick, are you?"

He shook his head again.

"I just don't want to play."

"Did you get into an argument with one of the others?"

"No." He bit his lower lip, and then shrugged. "I don't like the water, much."

"Ah." Sam smiled, brushing her fingers against his cheek. "You don't think Ian would let anything happen to you, do you?"

The little boy hesitated, and then shook his head.

"No."

"River?"

Sammy shook his head.

"No."

"I know _Jack_ wouldn't…"

Sammy looked over to where the others were all sporting in the water, Ian and Chance being ganged up on by Wilson and Chad, and Janet and Grant. Chance was pushed off Ian's shoulder rather quickly, but Ian simply scooped him out of the water and pulled him back to his shoulders.

"No…"

"They're in the shallow water, you know…" Sam pointed out. "It wouldn't be over your head."

"I don't want to go in…"

But he didn't sound quite so certain this time, and Sam knew that he was actually thinking about it. She smiled.

"Today's the last full day of camp, you know. Are you _sure_ you don't want to spend it playing with the others instead of sitting on the side?"

He shrugged, looking down at his hands.

"Maybe."

Jaffer, who had been sprawled on the other side of Sam, his head resting lightly on her thigh as he watched his Jack play with the others, raised his head and looked at Sammy, giving a low woof.

Sammy looked over, and Jaffer's tail thumped against the dock loudly.

"See? _Jaffer_ thinks you should."

He didn't look exactly convinced, but she knew he was close to it. It was probably killing him to watch the others have so much fun while he simply watched. Especially once Ian joined _them_ instead of spending time with him. It hadn't taken Sam long to see that Sammy at least felt a connection to Ian – although she wasn't sure how Ian felt about the boy, really.

"They'd stay in the shallow water?" he asked, finally, and Sam had to hide her triumphant grin.

"I bet they would if you asked," Sam assured him. "Want me to call Ian over?"

Another hesitation, but then the slightest of nods.

"Okay…"


	85. Chapter 85

"Ian!"

Ian stopped immediately at the sound of his name, looking over at Sam. He wasn't the only one, though. Jack stopped, too, making sure that nothing was wrong, and Janet stopped as well, thinking that maybe Sam had noticed a problem with Ian that she hadn't. Which stopped everyone else, as well.

Sam waved.

"Ian? Come here, will you?"

He looked over at Jack, who shrugged, and then reached up and pulled Chance off his shoulders, making sure the boy was firmly on the ground before letting him go and wading over to the dock and getting out of the water. He had to hitch his soaked jeans up to keep from losing them (jeans aren't the best for swimming, but it was that or in his underwear – and that wasn't going to happen).

"What's up?" He asked, looking first at Sam, and then at Sammy, who was looking pale and a little scared. "You okay?"

Sammy nodded, and Sam smiled.

"Sammy wants to play with you guys."

"He does?" Ian couldn't hide his surprise. Or his misgivings. Sammy didn't _look_ like he wanted to play. "You _do_?"

Sammy nodded again, but Sam spoke up.

"As long as you guys stay in the shallow water…"

Ian looked at Sam, but she just smiled.

"We're staying in the shallow water already." He looked at Sammy again, his dark eyes completely unreadable – which wasn't something Sam saw very often. "You're _sure_?"

Sammy nodded.

"Better take off your shoes, then – and your shirt."

The little boy smiled and stood up, pulling his shirt off as he did. Ian looked at Sam.

"You, too, _Major_ – except the shirt, of course."

Sam frowned.

"What?"

"I have Chance. Sammy's going to need a partner."

"Yeah."

Sammy knew that Ian wouldn't be able to be his partner – it wouldn't be fair for him to just drop Chance in favor of him, no matter how much Sammy wanted him to.

Sam made a face, but she stood up as well, knowing that since she was the one who'd convinced the boy to play, it was only fair she joined in, too – whether she wanted to or not!

"Everything okay?"

Jack had come over to join them, worried that something was wrong with Sam.

"It's fine," Sam assured him. "Sammy's going to come play, too. And so am I."

"Really?"

"It's me or Jaffer. Sammy needs a partner."

Jack grinned, looking up at the boy from the water.

"Good for you, Sammy!"

Sam smiled as well.

"Do you want a life jacket, Sammy? Just in case?"

The boy hesitated, and then nodded. _They_ might be excited that he was going to play, but he wasn't completely positive that he was doing the right thing.

"Don't worry," Jack said, misunderstanding the hesitation. "The others won't laugh at you if you're wearing a life jacket."

"I don't give a shit if they laugh," Sammy told them, distracted by the thought of going in the water.

Ian clamped his hand over the boy's mouth, looking chagrined, as Sam and Jack both stared at Sammy.

"I can't imagine where he learned that…" Ian told them.

Sammy pulled away, looking up at Ian.

"You told me to say that when I-"

"I didn't say to _say_ it," Ian said. "You're supposed to just think it."

Jack snorted, pulling himself out of the water.

"Come on, Sammy, we'll go get you a life jacket. Sam… _you_ can lecture Ian for me, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, Jack took Sammy down to the end of the dock and then over to the ski boat dock to get him set up with a life jacket. Sam turned to Ian, who scowled.

"I _don't_ need a lecture."

She smiled.

"I know.

If he was surprised, it didn't show. Instead, he glanced over at the other dock, where Jack was sizing life jackets against Sammy, looking for one the right size. Not too hard since they'd just had all the boys in life jackets only an hour or so ago.

"How did you convince him to come swim with us?" Ian asked, curious.

"I told him that you wouldn't let anything happen to him."

"Oh."

"So don't let anything happen to him, okay?"

"I won't."

OOOOOOOOOO

The other boys didn't exactly cheer when Sammy joined them, but all of them were well aware that Sammy was afraid of the water, and they were all glad to see him join them. They greeted him warmly, and when Ian told them that there was a new rule that they had to stay in the shallower water, they all agreed willingly. Then the game renewed, although the adults were careful to keep things calmer than normal. At least at first.

It'd been a long time since Sam and her bother had played Camel Fights, and then she'd been the jockey, not the camel. Sammy was shaking, and while Sam was plenty strong enough to hold him steady, she was pretty sure he'd have felt more secure with one of the guys carrying him. With that in mind, she switched partners with River, who was carrying Brian – one of the best swimmers in the group – and also one of the smaller boys.

Sammy had his arms so tightly around River's neck that it was a wonder the Californian could breathe, but River didn't mind at all, and it didn't slow him a bit. Sammy was more secure with River, who was a proven swimmer, and eventually he started to relax a little, daring to let go of River's neck with one hand to try and push against someone.

The water was soon flying and the air was soon filled with the sound of young laughter.


	86. 86

Despite the fact that he really was having a good time, Ian was glad when the lifeguards finally blew their whistles and told the Camel Fighters that it was time to get out of the water and head up to their cabins to get changed and ready for lunch. He was a little tired, for one thing, but even more, he was hungry as hell. Hungry enough that glancing over at Jaffer he noticed just how muscular the lab's legs were and wondering if dog was all that bad. A billion Asians ate them, after all – how bad could it be?

Pretty bad, probably. Besides, he liked Jaffer. He'd eat Sammy before he ate that big black lab. And Sammy was pretty scrawny.

Speaking of Sammy, River brought the boy out of the water and swung him down to the ground with an exaggerated motion. Being perched on the Californian as he'd been, Sammy hadn't taken too many dunkings in the water – although the first time it had happened he'd panicked until River had scooped him up by the vest he was wearing, assuring him silently that if he went into the water they weren't going to let him stay in long.

"You okay?" Ian asked the boy, walking over to help River get him out of the life vest.

Sammy nodded, his face lit up with a smile that made Ian smile, too. Dumb kid.

"That was fun!"

"We're glad you decided to play with us," River said, pulling the vest off and tossing it to Ian. "Make yourself useful, Brooks."

Ian bit back the automatic curse, and scratched his forehead – with one finger extended – instead. River grinned.

"Hey, guys," Jack said, coming up and joining them with the rest of the boys. He looked down at Sammy. "How was it?"

"Great!"

"Good." There was no hiding that Jack was proud of the boy for rising above his fears to play with the rest of them. "Let's go get changed."

The boys all yelled their agreement, and took off up the hill, water flying from their soaked clothes and hair, and Sammy right in the middle of them, feeling more a part of the group now than ever before. River and Jack followed, leaving Ian to take care of the life vest, and to gather up all the forgotten shoes, sandals and towels the kids had left. Not that he minded, since he needed to grab his own clothes, anyways.

He tossed the life vest into the ski boat, and then walked over to the dock, joining Sam and Janet, and interrupting their conversation.

"It's not such a big deal, Janet," Sam was saying.

"I'll have to replace the cast, Sam, or it'll rot right off."

"So don't put it back on."

Janet snorted.

"And how do we explain to everyone that it healed practically overnight?"

"Put a brace on it," Ian suggested. "It's not like it's broken or anything."

Janet scowled at the New Yorker, but she was still in a good mood from the water fight – it'd been a lot more fun than she'd expected, and not something she'd ever have thought of doing without being forced – so the scowl lacked the seriousness that normally would be present.

"It's not that simple, Ian."

"It's not like Shawn's _ankle_, Doctor Fraiser. Just tell anyone who asks that you want to get it x-rayed again or something and you don't want to put it in a new cast until you do."

He leaned over and picked up his shirt – which had dried nicely in the sun – and pulled it on.

"That's a good idea, Janet," Sam said. "And then I won't have to worry about dropping Jake."

Outnumbered – at least for the moment – Janet shrugged.

"I suppose that would work. I'll wrap it up and make it look like it's being supported more than it actually is, so you'll have some use of it."

"Good."

Fraiser looked at Ian, switching from one patient to the other apparently.

"_You_ look a little worn out."

He scowled at the change of subject – even though he _felt_ worn out.

"I'm fine."

Sam smiled, amused, but Janet wasn't willing to be brushed off quite so easily.

"Make sure you eat a hearty lunch."

His scowl deepened. How did she know he was hungry, for Christ's sake? Were all doctors like that? Or just her? Of course, she was also more than capable of nagging the shit out of him and he knew it, so he simply nodded. There wasn't any reason to argue with her over something he planned on doing anyways, after all.

"I will."

"Good."

Without warning, Janet's hand shot out and hit Ian right in the middle of his chest, palm flat. Surprised – even for someone who had Jaffa trained reflexes – Ian was overbalanced immediately, and fell backwards off the dock and back into the water, soaking his freshly dried shirt once more. He came up sputtering, having tried to swallow half the lake while he was going in, and Janet looked down at him with smug amusement.

Sam giggled, looking down too as he swam back over to the dock. Janet's hand shot out again, and with a surprised yelp, Sam found herself in the water next to Ian.

"Hey!"

Fraiser gave them both an innocent look that would have made Jack proud, and turned to walk down the dock.

"I'll see you two at lunch."

Ian looked over at Sam, who was now holding on to the edge of the dock beside him, pushing her wet hair out of her eyes.

"She's gotta pay for that."

Sam nodded, smiling.

"Oh, yeah. Big time."

Jaffer came over to the edge of the dock and looked down at them, his brown eyes cheerful as he watched them. Ian reached up and grabbed the lab's muzzle, always willing to tease him when the opportunity came up.

"Why didn't you push her in, you punk?"

The big lab growled cheerfully, pulling his head back and baring his formidable teeth at Ian in a gesture that looked far more threatening than it actually was – and Ian knew it.

"Punk."

Sam grinned, and hauled herself out of the water.

"Come on, Ian," she said, reaching for one of the towels left on the dock since hers was already wet. "You can walk me to my cabin."

He nodded, and pulled himself up onto the dock as well.

"My pleasure."

Maybe he'd even take a minute to see Jake – not that he wanted to cuddle the baby, or anything.


	87. 87

At lunch, once they'd all stuffed themselves to the gills, Gary Hines stood up and made his announcements. They were short and fairly simple – he didn't even need to look at his schedule.

"As you all know, today is the last full day of camp…"

There were disappointed noises; groans and other sorrowful sounds, and Gary gave them a moment to voice their disapproval with this before continuing.

"So for the rest of the afternoon, between now and dinner, you all have free time to do whatever you want. The gym will be open for those of you who want to play basketball or volleyball, the waterfront will be open, as will the lagoon for sailing and canoeing. If you want to ride, that'll be available as well – as long as you get there before the group leaves – and the arts and crafts table will be right here in the cafeteria in about half an hour."

Again he gave them a chance to chatter, since the kids in the room were already starting to discuss what they wanted to do, but a moment later they quieted down, knowing he had more to say.

"Normally, the last night of camp, we have some kind of big event to send you off with a bang – and this year is no exception. But I'm not going to tell you what it is, just yet."

There were more groans, this time of impatience and agony – the kids hated not knowing a secret! Gary only smiled.

"When you're done eating, you're dismissed to your afternoon free time. When the bell rings, next, it'll be half an hour before dinner."

He left his spot and returned to the staff table, and the kids all started talking excitedly again.

"What are we doing tonight?" Grant asked Ian, knowing that he was the one who always seemed to know what was on the schedule without looking.

Ian shrugged.

"No clue."

The boys groaned again, and Jack smiled.

"What are you guys going to do for free time?"

"I'm going riding!" Wilson said, quickly.

"Me, too," Chad agreed, not surprising anyone. Those two might just be stepbrothers, but they did everything together.

"I want to go sailing," Grant said.

"I'll go with you," Brian said.

"Me, too," Bruce told them.

"Want to come swimming, River?" Chance asked, hopefully.

River grinned.

"Of course!"

"Sure you wouldn't rather go riding?" Ian asked him, innocently.

"Well… it's a tough call, but yeah, I'll go swimming."

"Can I come?" Sammy asked, hesitantly.

River's smile broadened.

"Yup!"

Sammy smiled, because he didn't really want to go in the water without someone there with him. He looked over at Ian.

"Are you coming?"

Ian shook his head.

"I think I'm going to go fishing."

"Fishing?" Jack echoed.

Ian shrugged.

"Why not?"

He'd actually decided he was done doing active stuff for the day. He'd filled up on a lot of food at lunch and was ready to just take some time to himself. Maybe take a nap. The little dock at the far end of the lagoon would be perfect for fishing – especially if he didn't use a hook so he didn't have to worry about catching anything.

Jack shrugged, too.

"Maybe I'll see if Sam wants to come, and I'll join you."

Shawn smiled, and looked over at Jack.

"If she'd rather do something else, I can baby sit Jake for you guys."

"You sure?"

Shawn nodded.

"It's not like I can swim or ride, and I don't want to do arts and crafts. I'll go fishing with Ian and soak up some sun. Between the two of us, we should be able to keep Jake out of trouble."

He looked over at Ian to see if he was willing to have company – it was always possible that Ian had decided to do something no one else was doing so he wouldn't have to have any company, after all – but the New Yorker nodded. Shawn wasn't bad company, after all.

Jack smiled.

"I'll see if Sam wants to go riding, then."

She liked riding, and Jack loved it, but neither had thought they'd have the opportunity to go because they didn't want to pawn Jake off on someone else – and there were very few people Sam would be willing to leave him with, at any rate. He'd even see if Janet wanted to go, too. It'd be fun to see if Leadfoot could ride.

"Great."

Jack excused himself from the table and walked over to the staff table, and the boys looked at their counselors, expectantly.

"Can we be dismissed?" Chance finally asked for all of them.

"Are you done eating?" River asked.

They all nodded – although Brian reached for another brownie really quick and shoved it in his mouth.

"Then you'd better get going."

The boys scrambled away from the table immediately, and Shawn grinned.

"You'd think the last one sitting here had to do the dishes or something."

Ian snorted, and stood up.

"Get to it, then, Adams. I'll see you on the dock whenever you're ready."


	88. 88

"If she bucks me off, I'm _not_ going to be amused."

Jack smiled, his hand resting on the rump of the small paint colored horse that he was standing beside. Janet Fraiser was standing near at hand, looking a little less than enthusiastic about riding – just like she had been when Sam had suggested she join her and Jack for a ride in the first place.

"She is a _he_, doc," Jack said, making a vague gesture toward the horse's belly. "And _he_ is a sweetheart who wouldn't hurt a fly."

Fraiser still didn't look all that convinced, but it was too late to back out now. The horse was already saddled, and the kids were waiting on them so they could get started.

"I'm going to hold you to that, Colonel."

She'd seen the bruises on River, after all.

"Trust me."

She scowled, and put her foot in the stirrup, hauling herself up into the saddle.

"No further than I can throw Butterball here."

Sam laughed, watching as Jack mounted as well, and the three of them looked over at the Wranglers, who were already in their saddles, the pony line stretched between two of them with the kids already in their saddles as well, looking excited and ready to go.

"We're ready," Sam told them.

They nodded, and started the line of ponies, the kids whooping it up like the cowboys and cowgirls they were pretending to be just then.

"I should have gone fishing," Janet muttered, wincing as her horse eased into a trot to catch up with the others.

"This is much better," Sam promised. "You'll see."

"Come on, Leadfoot," Jack said, bringing his horse up behind them at a canter and pulling him to a walk next to Sam's gelding. "You can go as fast as you want, and not have to worry about getting pulled over."

Janet rolled her eyes as Sam hid her smile. She was never going to live that down. Ever.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

The small dock wasn't really all that isolated from the rest of the camp, but it was quiet and out of the way, and perfect as far as Ian was concerned. Mainly because the only people on the dock just then were him, Shawn, Jacob and Jaffer. No kids. None.

Ian sat down on the sun-warmed wood, resting his back against a post that had probably originally been used to tie a boat or two to the dock but was now over dry land. He had Jake in his arms, after all, and there was no way he'd risk having the baby out over the water without a life vest or some kind of floatie thing on him. Jaffer had no such reservations about the water, however, and the big lab was standing on the very edge of the dock, his head down as he watched the water below him intently.

Shawn tossed the fishing poles to the side and carefully lowered himself down onto the dock as well, sitting close to Ian and using another post as a backrest as well. Ian had carried Jake down – even though Shawn had said that he could. He couldn't, of course. Not with the crutches. Ian hadn't even let him try, and Shawn was relieved, really. He didn't want to drop his brother, after all.

"Want me to take him?"

"Sure."

Ian handed Jake over to Shawn, who cuddled the baby under his chin – Jacob's favorite spot on pretty much every one – and then reached over and picked up a stick.

"Jaffer."

The lab turned his head to look at him, and his eyes lit up when he saw the stick in Ian's hand. He trotted over and sat down, watching Ian as intently as he'd been watching the water only a moment before.

"If you get him wet, you're going to have to get him dry before bedtime," Shawn warned.

Ian shrugged.

"I know."

He tossed the stick over the edge of the dock and Jaffer followed it immediately, splashing water everywhere as he went into the water. Luckily, Ian and Shawn were far enough back that Jake didn't get splashed. A minute later Jaffer was back, soaked and holding the stick in his mouth, looking as pleased as if he'd invented cheese whiz.

"Give it here, big dog," Ian said.

When Jaffer complied, Ian tossed the stick again. And again. And again. Until eventually Jaffer wound down a little and was ready to flop down on the dock and gnaw on the stick he'd been chasing for the last hour. Which had been the whole idea, really. There was plenty of sunlight on the dock to dry the lab, and now Ian could lean back and close his eyes without having to worry about being ambushed by a restless dog while he tried to nap.

Shawn looked over at Ian as he closed his eyes, and hesitated. He didn't want to bother him when he had obviously intended to take a nap, but they were alone and it was almost as perfect a scenario as he could have hoped for them to have a chance to talk. And Shawn definitely had a few questions for Ian – even if Ian didn't have any for him.

He shifted Jake a little – the baby had dozed off after only ten minutes or so – and spoke up.

"Hey… Ian?"

The New Yorker didn't even open his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"What do Sam and Jack know about you that I don't?"

Ian opened his eyes and looked over at him, obviously confused.

"What?"

"What do they know that I don't?" Shawn repeated.

Ian frowned.

"I don't know… my favorite color?"

"I'm _serious_," Shawn said, knowing that Ian didn't have a clue what he was talking about since he hadn't phrased the question very well.

"I can tell, Adams," Ian said – which told Shawn that he was already getting defensive. Of course, Shawn was annoyed at him and Ian didn't know why, so it was somewhat understandable. "But I don't know what you're trying to ask me."

Shawn hesitated, trying to come up with a better way to ask.

"You remember when River was kidnapped by those guys from the Trust?"

"Yeah."

Of course he did.

"And he was hurt and so was I…?"

"Yeah."

Now Ian had an inkling of what Shawn was getting ready to ask, but he wasn't positive.

"Well… what does that have to do with this week? When you were sleeping for so long?"

"What makes you think it has anything to do with it?" Ian asked.

"Because Sam let it slip that it _did_ – and then she wouldn't tell me anything else, saying that it was something she thought you'd already told me – but obviously it isn't. So I want to know what it is that she and Jack know that I don't – but that she thought I _did_."

Jaffer picked himself up off the dock where he'd been soaking up the sun and moved over to flop down beside Ian, his head coming to a rest on the New Yorker's leg.

Ian hesitated, and Shawn scowled, certain that Ian was about to shrug him off.

"I want to know, Ian. Don't tell me it's classified, either, because if Sam thought I knew, then she must have assumed you'd told me. Otherwise she wouldn't have let it slip in the first place."

"It _is_ classified," Ian said. "At least, it's not something everyone should know – and definitely not something _I_ want anyone to know that doesn't need to."

"Does _Cassie_ know?" Shawn challenged.

"No."

Oh.

Undeterred, Shawn pressed the issue.

"I-"

Ian interrupted him, not ready to start an argument when all he wanted was some peace and quiet.

"Look, Shawn, if you want to know I'll tell you. But you need to know; it's not something I want spread around – not even to River or Cassie – and it might ring up some subjects you don't want to discuss."

It wasn't something Ian wanted to discuss, that was for certain, but he had to admit that of anyone, Shawn had the most right to know what he did.

Shawn hesitated, realizing that Ian wouldn't give him a warning like that without meaning something serious. Especially since Ian wasn't usually known for trying to spare anyone's feelings – although Shawn knew he wasn't quite as heartless as he wanted those around him to think he was. Finally, though, he shrugged – as well as he could, anyways, with Jake asleep on his shoulder.

"I want to know…"


	89. 89

Ian paused for a moment, but Shawn knew it wasn't hesitation. It was just that he wanted to get his thoughts in order. Since he'd pretty much ambushed Ian with the question, it was only fair he allow him a chance to figure out how he wanted to answer it, so Shawn didn't press. Besides, with Ian, you didn't really want to press anyways, or he'd probably end up dumping Shawn in the lake, new cast or not.

"Let me ask you a few questions, first," Ian finally said.

"Okay."

"Just _answer_ them, all right? Don't ask a bunch of questions until I'm done."

Shawn nodded.

Ian scratched Jaffer's ears idly for a moment, and then looked at him.

"You know what you are, right? I mean, what your mom was and all that…"

Surprised by the question, Shawn nodded.

"Yeah." Then he had a sudden insight. "Why? Are _you_ Ancient, too?"

Ian scowled.

"What'd I tell you about asking a bunch of questions?"

"Sorry."

Ian shrugged.

"Well, I'll answer this one. No. I'm not. Aside from some stray gene, I'm not, anyways. As far as I know – and I'll be the first to tell you I don't know _everything_ – you're the only one of your kind on the planet."

"Oh. Then why did you ask-"

"Jesus, Adams, just let me talk."

Shawn scowled, but since he'd promised to not ask questions, and he'd already asked three, Ian had a right to snap at him.

"Sorry."

"All right. So you know what you are… and you know about that thing Jack got his head stuck in, right?"

"The testing device that downloaded all the Ancient's data into his head…"

"Yeah."

Shawn nodded.

"I know about that, yes."

"Well, without going into details – since this isn't the most secure area – that one isn't the only one of those things out there, and I had one used on me."

"Really?"

Ian nodded.

"But Jack said he went crazy when he-"

"Yeah, the one I stuck my head into wasn't exactly the same as Jack's. This one had a different purpose, and it didn't just shove the shit into my head as fast as possible. Instead it went a little bit at a time, so I wouldn't go nuts like Jack did trying to get it all sorted out."

"What does this have to do with my mom?" Shawn asked, feeling that familiar ache at the memory of his lost mother.

Ian didn't snap at him for the question – not when it was about Dotty.

"What do you know about the abilities of your mother's people?" He asked Shawn, unwilling to mention the Ancients by name when he knew he shouldn't be talking about them at all. Not at camp.

"Abilities?" Shawn was suddenly reminded of the day Jack had told him about his true parentage, and how he'd asked him then if being half alien meant that he had super powers or anything. And how Jack had smiled and told him he'd have to discuss that with Dotty. Something Shawn had never done.

Ian nodded.

"They have several abilities we don't," he said. "One of them happens to be an ability to heal other people. Just with a touch."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Ian looked down at the cast on Shawn's leg. "I'll bet you never had a broken bone growing up, did you?"

"No."

"Never had stitches?"

Shawn shook his head.

"No. Not that I remember."

"There was probably a good reason for it. You might have, but Dotty could just put her hand on whatever hurt and it'd heal in an instant."

"Wow." Shawn was truly amazed by what he was being told. "How do you know all this?"

"About the abilities, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Because I learned it all when I got my head stuck in that device."

"But Jack doesn't remember anything that-"

"Jack doesn't have the memory I do, Shawn. Besides, Thor's people had to clear all that information out of Jack's head to keep him from going nuts."

Oh yeah.

"So _you_ know all about them, then?"

Ian shrugged.

"Not everything. Not yet. Maybe not ever, I don't know."

"But you know a lot."

"Yeah. More than they expected, I think."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, it's not something I'm going to go into right here – not with any detail anyways – but their device didn't work like they expected it to, or I didn't react like they expected, because I learned a lot more than they intended. Including how they manipulate the physiology in others."

"What?"

"I learned how they heal people."

"It's an _ability_, I thought."

Ian rolled his eyes, still scratching Jaffer's head, although the lab was watching the two of them as they chatted as if he was following along with the conversation.

"Yeah, but there's more to it than just touching someone and saying 'be healed' or some dipshit thing like that. There's a lot that happens on the inside. Your people do it naturally, without consciously thinking about it, but that doesn't mean there's not a process to it – and that someone who isn't one of them can't learn it."

"And you learned it?"

Ian nodded.

"It's not the same for me, though. For one thing, it's a lot harder for me, and it takes a lot out of me when I do it."

"You've done it?"

Ian nodded.

"The first time I did it I was desperate – otherwise I probably never would have tried."

His dark eyes turned to the baby Shawn was holding.

Shawn didn't miss the look, and several things clicked together at once. He wasn't stupid, after all, and now that he thought about it, he wondered why he hadn't realized it sooner.

"You healed Jake."

Ian nodded.

"Well… not exactly healed him… it was different with Jake – and a lot harder."

"Is that why he never cries with you?"

"I think so. It can't be my appealing nature."

Shawn smiled, his hand running lightly along Jacob's back.

"And River?" he asked. "When he went through that windshield, he was supposed to have been hurt a lot worse than he really was… you healed him."

"And you."

"But because you don't do it naturally – like my mom could have – it knocked you out?"

Shawn remembered how Ian had collapsed.

Ian nodded.

"I have to use my own energies," he explained – as well as he could, anyways. "Your mom could have used the energy from things around her. So it wipes me out."

"So you healed Libby when you found her? That's why you were so tired and slept for so long?"

"That and I wasn't really feeling all that great myself," Ian said with a shrug. "I can't heal myself – your people can't, either. Of course, most of them are surrounded by others with their abilities, so they don't need to be able to."

"Someone else could heal them."

"Yeah."

Shawn hesitated.

"So… can _I_ do it?"

Ian shrugged.

"I don't know. Not yet, obviously, since you've never done it, but maybe it's something you grow into as you get older. Or maybe you'll _never_ be able to. I'm not the one to teach you how – and it definitely isn't something you should experiment with."

"_You_ did."

"I told you; I was desperate."

"So that's what Sam and Jack know that I don't?"

Ian nodded.

"Yup."

"That's really amazing…"

"Not so much. I bet they know a lot of things you don't know."

Shawn smiled.

"Smart ass."

Ian's answering grin was amused.

"Never forget it, Adams."

Shawn looked down at his leg – the one with the cast on the foot.

"So how come you didn't take care of my ankle?"

"I started to."

But – as Shawn remembered – Ian had passed out.

"You could do it now, though?"

"It'd make everyone wonder how it healed so quickly, so I won't."

"But you could?"

"Yeah."

"That could probably come in handy off-world."

"Which isn't a topic we're going to discuss right now," Ian said, reminding Shawn they weren't at the SGC.

Shawn flushed at the reprimand.

"Sorry."

"So now you know."

"Everything?"

"Not even close to everything."

"But as much as your going to tell me?"

Ian nodded.

"Here, anyways – and it's more than I want anyone else to know. Got it?"

"Yeah." Shawn was quiet for a moment. "It's really something to think about… what you can do, I mean…"

"_You_ think about it," Ian said, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the post he was braced against. "I'm going to nap."

Meaning their conversation was over, Shawn knew. Of course, he had a lot to digest, so he was more than willing to leave Ian to his nap while he thought about what he'd learned – and wondered what it meant for his own future.


	90. 90

"You okay?"

Fraiser scowled at Jack, moving her head out of his reach. And then wincing at the pain from the sudden motion.

"I hate horses."

Sam smiled, handing her the wet towel they'd sent Wilson off to get – along with Mandy, who had sent the towel on ahead and said she'd be there as soon as she was finished with the girl she was bandaging. Free time always made for more minor injuries.

"Horses are great, Janet. You just found one with a short attention span."

Jack snorted, earning him a sour look from Fraiser, who put the wet cloth against her scraped cheek, pulling it back a moment later to see if the bleeding had stopped.

"Stupid thing."

"At least you didn't break your arm," Jack told her. "Daniel broke his the first time he rode – and look how much he likes them now."

"He doesn't."

"He kind of does."

Janet scowled again, and stood up. She'd been sitting on a bale of straw while the others watched for any sign of dizziness or disorientation that might represent a more serious injury, but the doctor was more than capable of deciding if she'd hurt herself, and she was fine.

"I'm going to go get cleaned up," she told them with as much dignity as she could muster. It was hard looking dignified when your hair was filled with twigs, your clothes were torn and your face had several scratches.

"We'll see you at dinner," Sam said, still smiling.

"Is she okay?" one of the wranglers asked, coming over as Janet was leaving, walking with just a hint of a limp.

"She's fine," Jack said. "Just landed on her poise."

"She landed on her _butt_," Chad said.

Jack chuckled, wishing Fraiser had heard that.

"She's going to be okay, though, right?" Wilson asked, worried.

"Sure."

"I thought she was a _doctor_," Chad said.

"She is," Sam replied.

"Doctors don't get hurt."

Sam smiled.

"Sure they do."

"Oh."

"Come on guys," Jack said, standing up as well and slapping the dust off his jeans. "Let's go see what everyone else is doing."

"Yeah!"

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Jaffer was the first to know they were coming. No big surprise there, of course. The big lab always knew where his Jack was – even when he wasn't with him. When the black head came up from where it had been resting on Ian's thigh and looked over towards the water, Shawn looked the same direction.

Jack, Sam, Wilson and Chad were all walking onto the ski boat dock, waving at kids who were in the water swimming, or sunning on the docks.

"Hey, look, Jake," Shawn murmured softly to his infant brother – who was awake and gnawing contentedly on Shawn's shoulder. "Mommy's done riding."

Jake didn't answer, but Shawn didn't really expect one. The young man looked over at Ian, who had been sleeping for the last hour and half, still leaning up against that post on the dock. They hadn't spoken at all since Ian had told Shawn about his crazy ability, and Shawn had left him alone, knowing he was tired and wanted to nap.

"Ian? You awake?"

"No."

"Jack and Sam are done riding."

"Good."

Shawn wasn't offended by Ian's lack of enthusiasm. Or by the fact that Ian hadn't opened his eyes.

"I'm going to go talk to them."

"Fine."

He'd stay here and finish his nap.

Shawn got to his feet and with Jake tucked into his arm he headed for the other dock. Jaffer snorted from his position beside Ian and got up as well. Naps were great, but the lab wanted to see Jack, too! He scrambled after Shawn, tail wagging cheerfully, and passed the boy at a run, eager to get to Jack.

"Hey! There they are!"

Jack clapped his hands when he saw Jaffer running over, and knelt on the dock to greet him. The lab lumbered onto the ski boat dock, his claws clicking on the polished wood as he ran over, and Jack realized way too late that he wasn't going to be able to stop in time – even with the additional traction the wood gave. Sure enough, the huge lab crashed into Jack going almost full bore, knocking him backwards into the water. Jaffer followed an instant later, much to the excitement of those kids and counselors who were around to witness it.

Sam laughed, leaning over as Jack surfaced, treading water easily even though Jaffer was intent on grabbing his shirt to pull him to safety.

"You needed the bath."

Jack splashed water up at her – and the rest of the kids who had gathered around.

"Unsympathetic woman."

She smiled a greeting at Shawn, and took Jacob from him.

"Did he give you any trouble?"

"Naw. I was with Ian."

Which said everything. Jake was never trouble when he was near Ian – only now Shawn knew why.

"Where is Mr. Personality?" Jack asked, catching the end of the conversation as he pulled himself out of the water. Jaffer was already paddling for the shore, where he'd get out of the water and come join them.

"He's taking a nap over there," Shawn said, gesturing toward the other dock.

"Should we go make sure he doesn't roll into the water?" Sam asked.

"I'm going to go find some dry pants," Jack said, slapping Jaffer's wet hide when the lab came rushing over, eyes cheerful. "Want me to take Jake?"

Sam handed their son over to him, knowing that Jack wanted some time with the baby.

"I'll see you at dinner."

"Yes, ma'am."

OOOOOOOOOO

He knew they were coming even without opening his eyes. For one thing, he felt the vibrations of their footsteps on the dock. For another, the boys that followed Sam and Shawn weren't exactly quiet – even though they were obviously trying to be.

"Don't wake him up!"

That was Wilson's voice.

"I'm not. Shut up."

That was Chad. Not surprisingly. He and Wilson always spoke to each other like that, Ian knew.

"Don't tell me to shut up."

"Shut up."

"I'm going to tell…"

"Guys…"

That was Sam.

Ian opened one eye, looking up at the group approaching.

Sammy came over, crouching down in front of Ian and peering into his face, worriedly.

"Did we wake you up?"

Ian sighed – a purely mental sigh – and opened the other eye.

"No. I was already awake."

"Want to come swimming with me?"

"Why don't we let him wake up a little, first, Sammy?" Sam asked, smiling as she sat down next to Ian.

"Okay."

The boys all sat down in a partial circle around Ian, who suddenly felt like they were going to ask him to tell them a story any minute. He didn't need to worry, though. The boys weren't ever going to ask him for a story. Never again.

"How was the ride?" Ian asked.

"Doctor Fraiser fell off her horse," Wilson said, eager to be the first to tell that story.

Ian looked over at Sam.

"Really?"

She nodded, smiling slightly to let him know that it wasn't serious.

"She let him wander, and he went off the path and brushed her off with a tree."

Ian grinned, which made Sam frown.

"I don't have to remind you that she wouldn't like being teased about such an event, do I?"

"Would I tease her?" he asked, innocently.

Sam wasn't fooled for a moment – and neither were any of the boys.


	91. 91

"Hey, how was the nap?"

Ian nodded a greeting to River, who had come up behind him as he and the others were walking up towards the cabin. They were going a little early – the bell hadn't sounded – but they were walking with Shawn, who was slowed because of his crutches.

"It was all right."

"River taught me how to swim!" Sammy told Ian, excitedly.

"Good."

It wasn't as enthusiastic a response as the little boy might have hoped for, but it was far more than most people would have received from Ian. Sam smiled, hugging Sammy from behind as they started up the hill behind the main building.

"Good for you, Sammy."

"He's a natural," River said, tousling the boy's hair.

Sammy beamed.

"_We_ watched Doctor Fraiser fall off her horse," Wilson said, unwilling to be outdone by Sammy's swimming.

River looked at Sam.

"Really?"

She nodded.

"She's not hurt, though."

"She cussed, though," Chad told them. "_She_ called her horse a –"

"We don't need to repeat what she said," Sam said, interrupting. Between Ian and Fraiser, the boys were learning all _sorts_ of new phrases, weren't they?

Ian smiled.

"You guys heading for the cabin?" River asked.

"We're keeping Shawn company," Sam confirmed. She, of course, was going to find Jack and Jake and spend a little alone time with them before dinner, but walking with the boys was nice. Sam enjoyed the company of youngsters – and Jake was going to be one eventually, so she didn't want to get out of practice.

"When's dinner?" Sammy asked. "I'm starving."

"Swimming will do that," River told him. He looked over at Ian. "When's dinner?"

"When the bell rings."

"When it rings the _second_ time," Wilson corrected. "The first time means we have to get cleaned up and ready for dinner."

Before Ian could comment on the correction – and Sam was certain he was considering a comment of some sort – they saw Gary and a few of his staff walking by them on their way up the hill from the main building. Not such an odd thing, really, except for the fact that they were all carrying large boxes. Refrigerator boxes, Ian saw.

"What are those for?" Chad asked, watching them.

"No clue," River answered. "Probably for whatever activity we're doing after dinner."

"We're packaging you guys up and sending you to Siberia," Ian told them.

"Where's that?"

"Nuh uh!" Sammy said at the same time, grinning. He was young, but he wasn't that gullible!

"Why don't you go ask him?" Sam suggested.

The boys all hesitated for maybe a half a second before they decided that that was a fine idea and they all ran off up the hill after Gary and the staff. As the adults watched, there was a conversation they couldn't hear, and a lot of pleading – which only made Gary grin and shake his head. Then the boys turned and came running back.

"He says it's a secret," Chad said.

"He said it was a _surprise_," Wilson corrected.

"No, he didn't."

"Yes, he did."

"No-"

"It's a _surprise_," Sammy said to Sam, ending the argument before it began – although he was just interested in knowing something that they didn't. "We'll find out after dinner, he said."

"Sounds like it might be fun," Sam said, not at all concerned about being forced to wait to find out.

"It sucks," Chad complained.

River reached out and grabbed the boy around his waist, pulling him close and tickling him.

"None of _that_ attitude, mister," the Californian said, cheerfully, as Chad giggled. "We can-"

"Hey!"

They looked up and saw Jack was sitting on the porch of the nurse's cabin, holding Jake in one arm and a bottle with his other hand. Obviously they were in the middle of a late lunch or an early dinner.

Scooping Chad up and hanging him over his shoulder, River joined the others as they walked up to the porch.

"Hey, Jack," Wilson said, cheerfully, clomping up the steps and coming over to crouch down beside Jaffer, who was sprawled beside Jack's chair.

"What are you guys up to?" Jack asked as Sam came over, leaned down and kissed him lightly.

The boys all groaned, disgusted, at the display of affection, and Sam grinned, reaching down and catching hold of Sammy, pulling him close and making kissing noises. Predictably, the boy wriggled against her grip, giggling but acting like he was desperate to get away. Even Ian had to smile when she finally released Sammy, and the boy made a show of wiping his face.

"_Girl cooties_!" Wilson crowed.

Sam laughed, and made a grab for the other boy, but Wilson was too quick for her, twisting out of the way and hiding behind Ian.

Sam rushed him anyways, and Ian moved to the side, clearing the way for her.

"They're coming for _you_," Sam told him, her eyes filled with mischief, and Wilson screeched, running again to hide behind River this time.

"_I'm_ not going to save you," River said, setting Chad down before he dropped him accidentally. "I happen to _like_ girl cooties."

"Among _other_ parts of them," Shawn murmured to Ian, who was standing beside him. Ian snorted in amusement and watched as Sam chased the boys around the cabin a few minutes, proving that she was more than capable of keeping up with a few little boys. She kept up with Jack and Jaffer, after all. What were six-year-olds compared to that?

Before any of them were worn out, the warning bell rang, telling them that it was time for them to start thinking about getting ready for dinner.

"Come on, guys," River said, reaching out and snagging Sammy as the little boy ran past. "I'm hungry!"

"Me, too!" Wilson agreed, grinning at Sam, who smiled back.

"Me, three!" Chad said.

"Me, f-"

"We get it," Ian said, interrupting. "Come on. You guys need to get changed."

He, of course, hadn't done anything harder than soaking up sun, so he was fine as he was. But he knew the boys would need a little supervision in order to get them to not throw all their shit all over the cabin when they changed. He wasn't stupid, after all, and he _was_ learning.

"I'll meet you guys in the cafeteria," Jack told them. He wasn't ready to leave Sam and Jake just yet.


	92. 92

Sam and Jack watched as the boys – along with Shawn, Ian and River – headed for their cabin, and then she sat down on the bench beside the chair Jack was sitting in.

"He survived the week…" Jack said, turning his attention to Jake, who was just finishing his bottle. He was obviously not talking about the baby, though.

Sam smiled, resting her hand lightly on Jack's thigh.

"So far."

"The week's over."

"Tomorrow."

"It wasn't the catastrophe you thought it would be, though. Admit it."

She shook her head.

"I keep waiting for the explosion."

"He's doing fine."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"He hasn't tossed any of them off a cliff or anything."

She smiled.

"True."

"Relax," Jack told her, shifting Jake so he could burp him. "Tomorrow we'll be heading back, and things will return to normal – as normal as it gets anyways."

She didn't exactly look convinced, but there wasn't any sense in worrying over something she couldn't control just then anyways.

"You want me to burp him?"

Jack shook his head, patting Jake's back gently.

"I got him."

Sam started to hand him a towel to protect his shirt, but it was too late for that. With a loud burp, Jake proceeded to spit up all over his father's back, proving that maybe he'd gobbled a little more milk than his little stomach was capable of holding down in one meal.

Sam chuckled as Jack's expression changed once he felt the wetness along his back and realized what had happened, and she draped the towel over her shirt and reached for their son.

"I'll take him. You go get cleaned up for dinner."

"Thanks."

As he stood up, though, she caught his sleeve with her free hand and pulled him down, stealing a kiss. He returned it more than willingly, of course, but grinned when she let him go.

"Girl cooties!"

Sam whacked him, playfully.

"Remember that when you're sleeping alone tonight."

"Cruel woman."

But he was still smiling when he jumped off the porch and headed up the hill – despite the drying baby spit up that covered his back and shoulder.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Good evening, Campers!"

The kids all greeted Gary cheerfully as they dropped their forks and spoons, waiting to see what he had to say now that dinner was over. Many of them – not just the boys from Australia – had seen the staff carrying boxes up to the ball field, along with other items in bags that hadn't been revealed, and they were all curious what they were going to be doing that evening for an activity.

Luckily, Gary didn't make them wait too long.

"When you're done eating and have cleared your dishes, I want you all to head up to the ball field – but I want you to stay with your counselors. Understand?"

There were affirmative shouts, and excited murmurings. Gary waited for them to die down.

"While I have you here, I'll explain what we're doing, so I don't have to try and make myself heard up at the ball field. Each cabin will find a spot at the ball field marked off just for them, with a little sign with their cabin name to make sure they go to the right spot. In your spot, you'll find a large, empty box. Along with several other items – which I'll let you discover on your own. Your job will be to make a tank out of that box – using the items in your space as well as anything you might find in the woods around the ball field; leaves, sticks, dirt… whatever you want."

Gary paused, looking first at Libby, who was safely seated in between Ann and Sierra, and then at the other children.

"I'll remind you not to wander off while you're looking for your materials, however. Stay with your counselors. Okay?"

Again there were nods of agreement. The kids had learned by the example. None of them would wander off. The counselors, too, had learned, and they'd keep a close eye on their kids – even though there was plenty of daylight left.

"So," Gary continued, once he was sure he'd made his point. "You'll have half an hour to make your tanks – and make them as sturdy as you can, mind you – and then I'll explain what we're going to do with them when we get to that point. Any questions?"

There weren't any questions. There was, however, a lot of excited babbling as the kids started trying to decide what they were going to do with the tanks – and started bragging about how much better their tank was going to be over anyone else's.

"Okay, then! Finish eating, and then head up to the ball field."

Gary sat down to finish his own dinner, but the kids were done, now. They were way too excited to eat!

"Let's go!" Bruce said, eagerly.

The rest of the boys at the table nodded their agreement. Unfortunately, they ran into a road block.

"I'm not done eating, yet," River told them, taking a bite of his dessert.

The boys groaned in the same breath it seemed, and River's blue eyes twinkled with amusement, well aware what he was putting them through by eating slowly.

"Hurry!" Sammy yelled, too excited to keep his voice down.

"We can go without him," Brian suggested to Shawn, Ian and Jack.

"We have to go together," Shawn reminded the boys. Again they groaned.

Ian snorted, amused, and started in on his own dessert. Cake was normally something that the boys would have been more than happy to linger over, but now they were just groaning in dismay over how large the pieces seemed to be – and their own were pretty much untouched.

"You're killing them," Jack said, grinning as he finished his coffee.

"What?" River asked, innocently. His innocent look was better than any Jack had ever seen – even though it was vastly insincere just then. "I just want to finish my cake."

Jack looked down at the lab on the floor by his feet.

"Jaffer?"

Jaffer got up, went over to River's spot and easily snagged the remaining cake from the Californian's plate with a quick, well-practiced lunge. River scowled as his piece of cake vanished in an instant, and looked over at Ian, who saw the danger immediately, picked his own piece up and shoved it into his mouth before anyone could snatch it.

"I'm ready," he mumbled through the mouthful.

"Let's go, guys," Jack said, standing up.

Cheering, the boys rushed for the door, joining all the other campers who were heading out as well.


	93. 93

"How are we supposed to build a tank out of _this_?"

Chad had voiced the question that all the boys were thinking as they stared down at the pile of items that had been left next to their huge empty box. Besides the box itself, there were several rolls of duct tape, a sharp knife, some cardboard rolls that looked like you'd find inside a wrapping paper when it was done, and some extra pieces of cardboard.

"What do you mean?" River asked. "We have everything we need – except for some camouflaging stuff."

"There ain't no wheels," Sammy protested.

"We don't need wheels," Shawn said. "We just have to put holes in the bottom of it, so a couple of you can drive it – like the Flintstones."

"Tanks have _wheels_," Wilson said.

"No, they don't," Jack disagreed. "They have _tracks_. We don't need tracks for _our_ tank, though. We just need to make sure it's better than any of the others'."

The boys grinned at that. Yup! That was all that was important to them! That theirs was best – or at least, better than any of the girls'.

"Well, we need to get started," River said, noticing that the other cabins were already sending kids and counselors off to get other items, like branches, rocks and pinecones – and who knew what else?

"Ian," Jack said. "You take a couple of the boys and start gathering up camouflage materials."

"What are those?" Chance asked.

"Branches, leaves, stuff like that," Jack told him – and the others. "Things to make it look more like a tank and less like a box."

"Oh."

"You guys make sure you stay with Ian, okay?"

Jack didn't need to remind them. None of the boys had any desire to wander off – even though it was still light out, and it wasn't raining or anything. As Ian headed for the edge of the woods, Sammy, Chance, Wilson and Chad followed, sticking close but already starting to pick up things off the ground that they thought they might need.

"What do _we_ do?" Brian asked, turning to Jack and Shawn.

"We get the shape ready to be decorated."

OOOOOOOOO

By the time Ian returned with his charges – who had their hands filled with sticks, leaves, some rocks and even a handful of feathers they'd discovered at the base of a small tree – the tank looked more like a tank than any of them might have expected it to look. The cardboard tubes and extra cardboard had been turned into two gun turrets complete with barrels. There was a long narrow opening in the front of the tank for those inside to look out and see where they were going, along with two openings in either side that looked a lot like windows. The others had done a fine job, putting it all together with just duct tape.

"Great!" Jack said, grinning when Ian's group returned. "We need that!"

The boys who had gone gathering looked at the tank excitedly.

"It looks great!" Chad said, approvingly.

Those who had stayed preened.

"We just need the finishing touch, now," River said, picking up the tape again and gesturing for the kids to bring the camouflaging branches, leaves and other items over.

He was just taping the last big branch to the front of their tank when Gary Hines made his appearance at the ball field. The camp director took a long moment to make sure everyone was pretty close to being finished, and then went to the center of the field where everyone would be able to hear him and called for their attention. The kids quieted almost immediately.

"They look good, Campers!"

The kids clapped and hooted, each group certain that he meant that their particular tank looked better than the others.

"Now…" Gary said with a smile. "Let's see who built the sturdiest one."

"How are we going to do that?" Sammy asked into the silence that greeted that statement.

Gary's smile turned into a huge grin and he gestured to his assistants, who trotted over to the tarps that had been covering the secret pile. They pulled the tarps back, and the kids all gasped; some with surprise and wonder, others with excitement. Underneath those tarps was literally the largest collection of… stuff… that any of them had seen.

There were buckets of water balloons, dozens of eggs in cartons, little sandwich bags of what looked like some kind of white powder – flour, Ian decided. There were other buckets filled with water that held stacks of sponges beside them, bottles of ketchup and mustard and whipped cream and all sorts of other things that looked like nothing moe than the ingredients for a major food fight.

"What are we going to do with all this stuff?" Gary asked, after giving them a moment to babble amongst themselves. "That's easy. We're going to use these items to test the sturdiness and durability of each of the tanks."

As he'd been speaking, two of his staff members had been using chalk to make two parallel lines in the grass in the middle of the field. The lines were about 20 feet apart, and about a hundred feet long.

"This is a gauntlet," Gary told the curious campers. "One by one each tank will be 'driven' down the gauntlet by two campers hiding inside. Everyone else will be lined up on the lines facing each other, and your job is to throw stuff at the tanks as they pass by to try and destroy them." He gave the excited campers a suddenly stern glance. "I don't need to say this, but I'm going to anyways. You _only_ throw those items that are in these stacks. No sticks, or rocks or pinecones… nothing that might hurt someone. Understand?"

There were excited nods of agreement, the kids all but twitching in their excitement. It was a glorified food fight, really, with the tanks as the actual targets – although anything that someone tossed at a tank and missed with would surely hit those standing on the other line of the gauntlet. With an assortment of wet sponges and water balloons – not to mention all the other stuff – it was going to get really messy, really quickly.

"The syrups and ketchup and other condiments get poured into your hand and then thrown," Gary said, making sure that no one lobbed a mustard bottle at the tanks – and the other side of the gauntlet. "The tank that takes the least amount of damage after three runs through the gauntlet is the winning one. Got it?"

There were excited cheers, and kids started clamoring to their counselors to be one of the two who would drive the tank. Since there were to be three trips through the gauntlet there would be six drivers total – which worked out pretty well for the Australian cabin. Most of their boys really wanted to be on the lines where they could be throwing stuff – although Chance and Chad both looked so eager to try out the tank that Jack told them they could go first.

"Let's get the tanks lined up!" Gary shouted over the din of the campers. He pointed to one end of the gauntlet, and the counselors started guiding their tank drivers into their tanks and getting them lined up to run the gauntlet.

"This is going to be great," River told Shawn, bringing over a bucket of water and a handful of sponges in one hand and a thing of water balloons in the other. He was followed by Ian, who had been given the condiments and a dozen eggs. The counselors would throw the eggs, since they could hurt if they hit something besides the tanks – although they'd make such a great mess that they just couldn't be left out of the ingredients.

"It's going to be _messy_," Shawn agreed, shaking his head in amusement as he watched Ian started pouring ketchup into eager little hands. This was nuts. But it was going to be a lot of fun.


	94. 94

"I probably don't have to tell you this," Shawn aid looking over at River as they made their way back towards their cabins in the fading light of the setting sun. "But you have flour and whipped cream in your ear."

River looked over at him.

"What? I can't hear you; I think I have flour in my ear."

Shawn grinned.

"Smart ass."

It was safe to call him that. All the kids were walking with Jack, watching him worriedly as he limped down the hill from the ball field and towards the cabins. Jack had slipped on a piece of slick cardboard and had fallen awkwardly, twisting his knee. He wasn't injured badly, and had refused Fraiser's suggestion that he go down to the nurse's cabin and get it wrapped up – saying that he wanted to finish the tank wars – but he was paying for that, now, because his knee had stiffened up and the kids were now trying to help him walk. Which wasn't much help. It didn't help that Sam was walking beside him, carrying Jake, amused instead of concerned.

River chuckled.

"I _love_ tank wars…"

"It was fun," Shawn agreed. "But I don't see them doing it at the academy."

"Probably not."

River had taken the brunt of what had really turned out to be some kind of mad food fight. He was very popular, both among the campers and the counselors, and that had made him an ideal target for the food items that were left over after the initial gauntlet running.

A couple of the male counselors had even wrestled him to the ground and had whitewashed him in flour and whipped cream – the source of that which was now residing in the Californian's ear – and had topped it off with mustard to give it some color. It wasn't something they tried with Ian (which Shawn privately thought was just as well) and since Shawn was injured, they didn't try it to him, either, but River was a mess, and definitely one of many who needed to get cleaned up before they headed back that direction for campfire.

"I don't see Sam allowing you and Jack to try the _home_ version, either," River said.

Shawn shook his head, still smiling.

"Probably not."

OOOOOOOOO

"Ian?"

Shawn intercepted Ian as the New Yorker headed for the cabin with the boys – once the boys had safely delivered Jack to the nurse's cabin to have his knee checked out. Ian stopped at the door when he heard Shawn, and when the younger cadet waved him over he walked over, frowning.

"What's up, Adams?"

Since Ian called Shawn by his surname most of the time, it wasn't anything new. But Shawn had a feeling Ian knew what he was going to ask him even before he asked it.

"I wanted to talk to you for a minute – without the kids."

"Yeah?"

Shawn looked around, feeling a little dumb even as he did it, since it made him feel like he was trying to be a spy or something – which he wasn't. He just knew that Ian wouldn't appreciate this conversation being overheard – and that was assuming Ian even answered.

"Why didn't you take care of Jack?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… why didn't you…" Shawn trailed off, flicking his fingers at Ian to imitate putting his hand on someone. "_Take care_ of him…"

Ian scowled.

"In front of _everyone_? With all of them watching?"

Shawn felt a little foolish for asking, but he doggedly pressed on.

"It's not like you have to say magic words or anything – _do_ you?"

"No."

"So they wouldn't have _known_ what you were doing…"

"He's not going to lose the leg or anything, Shawn."

"I know that, but-"

"He would have been pissed if I'd have done it," Ian interrupted. "In front of everyone, risking falling on my face with them being forced to try and explain what was wrong with me – and trying to keep the kids from panicking if I'm not my usual chipper self – especially after the scare they already had."

Shawn hesitated. He hadn't actually thought about that.

"But _you_ said it doesn't take that much to-"

"It's not _easy_, though." Ian's expression made it clear that he couldn't believe Shawn was even asking. "I told you that."

"It's just a sprain."

"Exactly. It'll be fine. _Fraiser's_ here, you know? She's a fucking _doctor_. I think she can figure out how to keep-"

"He's my _dad_, Ian." Shawn said, realizing even as he said it that he was very aware that Jack was the only parent he had left. One that he depended on a lot more than he thought he did – especially considering that he wasn't even living with him nine months out of the year. The words came out of his mouth before he could stop them, even as he thought them. "He's all I have."

And that, of course, was the worst thing that Shawn could have said to Ian. Ian who would never forget – or forgive himself – for being the one that had urged Shawn to send his mother and James on the trip that had been their last. His annoyance faded immediately, and his dark eyes were anguished.

"I-"

"Ian, I'm sorry," Shawn said. "I didn't-"

"No. It's all right, Adams. I understand what you mean…"

"I didn't mean to-"

Ian shrugged; obviously trying to hide that Shawn had struck a chord – even though he was doing a lousy job of it.

"Don't worry about it. If Fraiser needs me to take care of Jack I will. As soon as we're out of here."

Before Shawn could say anything else, Ian turned and headed back for the cabin. The conversation was finished as far as he was concerned. Not that Shawn would have wanted to continue it anyways. He suddenly felt both stupid for thinking that Jack needed Ian to fix his leg when Janet was right there to take care of him, and lousy for reminding Ian of something that Shawn had hoped he might be forgetting – or at least shoving to the back of his mind where it wouldn't be so painful.

"God, I'm so stupid…"

Wishing he had thought a bit more before starting that particular conversation, Shawn followed Ian to the cabin.


	95. 95

Because of the huge food fight in one part of the ball field – and the fact that the ground was soaked in that particular area – the camp staff had set up the campfire for the last night in the far corner of the field, away from what little light there was shining from the edge of the corral and the barn that housed the horses and ponies. But, in acknowledgement of the fact that it was the last night of camp and therefore important, they had actually dug a fire pit and started a fairly large blaze in it, around which were several long benches for the kids to sit on.

The campers immediately grew excited at the prospect of a real fire and a whole night of singing, and their already eager pace increased as soon as they saw the flames. There was no substitute for the real thing, after all.

"What's wrong with Ian?" Jack asked River and Shawn as the three of them made their way up to the field. Ian hadn't said more than two words to anyone – including the boys. Luckily, the boys were excited enough about campfire that they didn't realize he was any quieter than normal, but Jack, River and Shawn all caught it – although Shawn was the only one who knew what was wrong.

"He doesn't like campfire," River said.

Which was true enough. But it wasn't the reason. Shawn shook his head, but he didn't say anything.

He couldn't really talk about what had happened, because River was with them and he couldn't go into details. And if River thought something was being held back – and he was smart enough to figure it out quickly that something was being held back – then he'd want to know what it was and would probably try to figure it out. Which wasn't acceptable, really. Especially if _Ian_ found out. He'd never tell Shawn anything again – and with good reason.

Before anyone could say anything else, they were interrupted from behind.

"You guys are _sooo_ lucky…"

It was Sam, who was carrying Jake and walking with Janet and Jaffer.

Jack smiled, but since he wasn't very steady with his knee wrapped so tightly, he didn't dare reach over to take the baby from her.

"Why are we lucky?" he asked, instead.

"Because Janet says you're not to stay on your feet for any period of time – which means you can't lead songs at campfire…"

Shawn had to smile at that. He didn't mind campfire nearly as much as Ian did – he actually rather liked it – but he didn't want to try and lead the songs. Especially to make up for losing a bet that he hadn't wanted to make in the first place.

"Awww, that's just too _bad_…"

Jack didn't sound all that sincere – and Sam wouldn't have been fooled for an instant if he had. She smiled.

"I'll just have to think of something you guys can do at home to make up for it."

"Like washing your car every day," River suggested.

Jack scowled, pretending to take a poke at the Californian.

"You keep out of this, mister, or I'll tell the Commandant at the academy that you're volunteering for summer classes."

River grinned; once he left camp he was on his way home, where he'd be spending the summer surfing and hanging out with his family.

"I don't think he'd have any luck trying to get my mom to let me go back – no matter what he says." Sierra walked past them just then, and River's eyes followed her progress. "Oops… I gotta go."

He smiled a goodbye to Sam and Fraiser, and trotted after the female counselor, who was more than pleased to see him from the looks of things.

"Some things will never change," Sam said, amused.

"Like _that_…?" Janet said, motioning with her chin towards the far side of the campfire area as they walked into the light of it. The Australian boys were divided; half with Ian and half with River and Sierra, but it was obvious that even though he was with them, Ian was a million miles away.

Sam frowned.

"Is he okay?"

Since Shawn didn't want Janet to think Ian was sulking – he _wasn't_ – he shook his head.

"I made a comment that I shouldn't have," he admitted, softly. "And I think he took it badly."

He actually _knew_ Ian had taken it badly, but he wasn't quite able to admit that he'd said something so dumb – at least not to all of them. Luckily, they all knew that Ian wasn't one to have his feelings hurt easily, which told them that whatever Shawn had said hadn't been something like telling Ian his jeans made his butt look too big. And since Shawn looked fairly guilty about it, they didn't press, assuming (correctly) that it wasn't something he'd want to discuss just then. If ever.

Sam handed Jake over to Janet.

"You guys find a spot. I'll go talk to him."

"Sam-"

"Relax, Shawn," she assured him. "I won't say anything. Trust me."

Which of course, he did. Shawn nodded, and they moved to find a spot to sit – someplace on the end of a bench so Jaffer could be on the ground without being a footrest – while Sam headed over to the far side of the campfire, and smoothly slid into the spot beside Ian, smiling at the boys as she did so.

"Is this seat taken?" she asked him.

He looked over at her, and shook his head. But he didn't reply.

"I don't think Ian feels good, Sam," Sammy said in a stage whisper that Ian obviously wasn't supposed to hear. Of course, since Sammy was sitting on one side of Ian and Sam was sitting on the other, Ian heard it just fine.

"Are you sick?" Sam asked. There was always the chance that Shawn was wrong, and that Ian had done too much too quickly, wearing himself out. He didn't look sick, though. Just hurt.

Ian shook his head.

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

He nodded, looking down at his hands.

Sam frowned. True, he wasn't the most talkative person, but he'd usually at least open up with her. He was completely withdrawn just then, however, and she wondered what on earth Shawn had said. But of course, she couldn't ask. Especially not with the boys hanging around.

Sam patted his knee.

"I'll be back in a bit."

Ian just nodded again.

OOOOOOOO

"Any luck?" Jack asked as she came over to where they were sitting.

Sam shook her head.

"No…"

"I'm so stupid…" Shawn muttered, more to himself.

Sam patted his shoulder, looking around the campfire area.

"We just need to pull out the big guns, Shawn…" she said.

He looked up at her curiously, wondering what gun could possibly be bigger than Sam when it came to Ian.


	96. 96

Ian wasn't pouting. True, he was in his own world just then, not paying much attention to anything going on around him, but he wasn't sulking. He was thinking about something Shawn had said months ago – how his memory, while it was one of his greatest assets, was also a burden, because it kept him from being able to forget the worst that had happened to him. Unlike most people, Ian couldn't let the bad memories fade away into something bearable. He could let them ease a bit, replaced with other, more powerful emotions, but when something happened – or something was said – that reminded him of whatever he'd been trying to forget, those memories would once more hit him full force.

Which was what had happened earlier that evening when he'd been talking to Shawn. He knew it hadn't been intentional. Knew that Shawn was honestly sorry for bringing up the subject, but it didn't matter. Now that he was thinking once more of when Dotty and James had been killed, he couldn't stop – and he couldn't forget the guilt and self-loathing he'd felt those terrible days. It was constantly in his mind, and there was nothing to distract his agile memory from replying every detail over and over again as he sat on the edge of the campfire, the boys chattering excitedly around him but his mind a million miles away.

Right up until he realized someone was standing in front of him. Right in front of him where he couldn't have ignored her if he wanted to.

"Ian?"

Libby had unconsciously picked the spot right in front of him, perfectly centered where he couldn't look around her and couldn't really look anywhere but at her once she had his attention. Sure enough, his dark gaze met her big blue eyes when he lifted his head at the sound of his name, and were fixed on her and nothing else.

"Yeah?"

His voice was distracted, but Libby had the self assuredness that come with all little girls who know they are welcomed wherever they may be at that particular time – and Libby had the added benefit of being certain that _Ian_ loved her. After all, _he'd_ been the one to save her, right? He'd held her when she was scared, and only people who love you do that.

"Can I sit with you?"

Ian frowned, certain that he'd heard her wrong – even though he knew he hadn't.

"What?"

She stepped up, her hands on his legs forcing his knees out of the way so she could get closer. He must not have heard her, because he wasn't picking her up.

"I _said_, can I sit with you?"

He hesitated, but nodded before he even realized he was doing it. Ian _wasn't_ immune to her, after all, and she really was kind of a pushy little kid, already moving closer. There was a spot beside him that Sam had vacated. She could sit there, he supposed.

Libby's face lit up with a smile, and she climbed up into Ian's lap, completely ignoring the empty spot beside him. He froze, still scowling, but when she over compensated and started to slide off his lap, his arm came around her to steady her and Libby shifted, turning around on Ian's lap so her back was pressed up against his chest. This way she could be held, but she could also watch campfire and sing along.

Reluctantly, Ian relaxed a little, baffled at how quickly he'd lost control of things – especially when he was losing that control to a six year old girl – but short of dumping her off his lap there wasn't much he could do about it, now was there? He sighed, and she put her hands on his, holding him far more securely than he was holding her, the back of her head coming to rest against his shoulder.

OOOOOOOOO

"_That_ was sneaky…" Jack said, impressed.

Sam smiled, looking over at the two without making it obvious that she was – just in case Ian realized that Sam had been the one to sic Libby on him. So far it didn't seem to be the case, and since he hadn't been paying any attention to anything that had been going on before, he might not make the connection at all.

"Yeah."

Janet looked over as well.

"I wish I had a camera."

Jack snorted, knowing that Ian wouldn't appreciate that, but before he could say anything in response, Gary stepped up to the front of the fire and grinned at the campers and counselors.

"Are we ready for some singing?" He asked them, grinning.

There were loud cheers and yells as the kids made sure he knew they were. Gary gestured for the guys with the guitars to step up and start the singing.

_In a cottage in a wood_

The kids all drew a cottage in the air in front of them as they sang this line.

_Little old man at the window stood,_

Now they put their hands over their eyes like they were looking through binoculars.

_Saw a rabbit running by_

Now they had their hands up, two fingers in the air for bunny ears as they 'hopped' the rabbit.

_Frightened as could be._

And the kids made scared faces, grinning while they did.

_"Help me, help me, sir," she said,_

The campers threw their hands up into the air…

_  
"Before the huntsman shoots me dead."_

And they made little pistols with their hands, their thumbs the hammers.

_  
"Come, little rabbit, come with me,_

They made a beckoning motion with one finger.

_Happy we will be."_

One hand was once more the rabbit; the other was gently stroking the rabbit's ears lightly.

"Ian…?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not _singing_…"

Ian scowled, but Libby couldn't see it since she wasn't looking at him – and wouldn't have minded even if she had seen it.

"You can sing for both of us, okay?"

Since the campers were already starting to repeat the song – and Ian knew from experience now that they would repeat the damned thing at least four or five times – Libby didn't have a chance to argue about it. Not if she wanted to do the hand motions with the words – and she _did_! Secure in the knowledge that Ian's strong arms were around her and wouldn't let her fall off, Libby practically danced in his lap, singing and making exaggerated hand motions with the rest of the campers, while Ian simply tried to keep her from falling off, his attention pretty much completely on that task, now.

Which had been the whole idea._  
_


	97. 97

It was _agony_. Pure and simple agony. The campfire seemed to go on and on and on – and it really did, so it wasn't just Ian's imagination. Since it was the last full night of camp, Gary had decided that the kids could stay up fairly late, and since they were enjoying the singing he was more than willing to let it go on as long as the guitar players and song leader were willing to play.

Which was _forever_, apparently, Ian decided.

Even worse for him, Libby had made no show of wanting to get off him. From her lofty perch on his lap, she did all the hand movements the songs required, and clapped as loudly and cheerfully as any of the other kids did – all the time perfectly secure in the knowledge that Ian wouldn't let her fall. Which of course was right on the money. He wasn't holding her tightly – it wasn't like a fall would break anything or something like that – but he was quick enough to shift his hold if she started to slip, and all the while the singing around him never stopped.

_My momma  
She gave me a dollar  
She told me to buy a collar  
But I didn't buy no collar  
Instead I bought some bubblegum  
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA bubble gum_

_BAZOOKA, ZOOKA bubble gum _

My momma  
She gave me a quarter  
She told me to tip the porter  
But I didn't tip no porter  
Instead I bought some bubblegum  
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA bubble gum

_BAZOOKA, ZOOKA bubble gum _

My momma  
She gave me a dime  
She told me to buy a lime  
But I didn't buy no lime  
Instead I bought some bubblegum  
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA bubble gum

_BAZOOKA, ZOOKA bubble gum _

My momma  
She gave me a nickel  
She tole me to buy a pickle  
But I didn't buy no pickle  
Instead I bought some bubblegum  
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA bubble gum

_BAZOOKA, ZOOKA bubble gum _

My momma  
She gave me a penny  
She told me to buy some bubblegum  
But I didn't buy no bubblegum  
Because I'm **sick** of bubblegum  
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA bubble gum

_BAZOOKA, ZOOKA bubble gum!_

Ian groaned, softly, wondering who the hell came up with these songs – and how did the kids pick up on them so quickly? It obviously wasn't instinctual – _he_ didn't know them – but they only seemed to hear it once to know all the words – and they _always_ wanted sing them over and over.

Just as he was about ready to go absolutely nuts, the singing finally ended. Gary came to stand in front of the guitar players, who started to put their instruments away and Ian had to actually stop himself from cheering aloud.

"Okay, Campers!" Gary said, looking at his watch and ignoring the disappointed groans from the kids – who were quick enough to figure out that he was finishing up campfire. "It's almost midnight, and it's time to start heading back to the cabins."

More disappointed groans, but the kids all started getting up. Libby, however, made no such move, even though Ian knew she hadn't fallen asleep or anything. He poked her with his finger.

"Hey. Weren't you listening?"

She turned and looked at him, and nodded.

"Uh huh."

"Well…?"

"Will you go with me?"

"What?"

"Will you take me back to my cabin?"

He frowned.

"Why?"

"So the Wraith don't get me," she said, looking out into the darkness.

Ian scowled.

"Don't you have your rock?"

"I left him in the cabin."

It was obvious as Ian looked around that Libby hadn't been the only one to forget that after campfire it was going to be dark going back to the cabins from the ball field. And just as obvious that they'd allowed themselves to forget about the spooky Wraith – right up until they were once more faced with walking through the dark. While all of the kids were on their feet now, none of them were heading towards the cabins – and only one or two of them were toting their pet rocks.

Ian sighed, but really, he didn't have a lot of choice.

"Come on…"

He tightened his grip around her and stood up, picking her up and swinging her into his arms in a more comfortable manner. The other campers were crowding around their counselors for the trip back to their cabins – and Ian half expected the annoyed looking counselors to suggest that he go find everyone's pet rocks in their cabins and bring them back so the kids would have their protections with them as they went back. Luckily, no one must have considered it – although all the boys of Australia went immediately to Ian, figuring he was their safest bet.

Sam came over with Jack and Shawn, smiling to see him holding Libby. Predictably, Ian scowled at the look.

"She wants me to take her back to her cabin," he said, almost defensively.

"Good idea," Sam said, nodding.

"We'll take the boys," Jack told him, which was a relief, since Ian didn't want to be followed all over the camp by every little kid like some kind of freaky pied piper.

"Fine by me."

His relief was obvious, and it made Sam grin.

"I'll see you guys in the morning," she told them, giving Jack's hand a light squeeze.

As the boys said their goodnights to her, Ann came over, followed by the other girls in her cabin. She nodded a greeting to the others and extended her hands to Libby.

"Ready?"

Libby shook her head, clinging to Ian, who was tempted to drop her – just to get rid of her. It would be just his luck, though, that she'd land on her head or something and he'd have to listen to a dozen different people lecture him about being more careful.

"Ian's taking me back," Libby said, her face pressed against his neck and jaw.

Ann grinned at the expression on Ian's face, well aware that it hadn't been his idea.

"Okay, then. We'll walk with you."

Ian sighed, but couldn't think of any good excuse not to let them.

"Fine."


	98. 98

Luckily for Ian, the girls in Ann's cabin weren't really talkative on their way back to their cabin. It might have had something to do with the fact that they were all peering out into the darkness nervously as they walked. They stayed close to him and to Ann and Danin, a couple of them so close that he was worried he was going to end up tripping over one of them in the dark and taking a tumble. Which of course, would have probably meant landing on Libby and having to deal with more injuries. Ian couldn't wait to get back to the SGC where there were only grownups around and none of them would start crying great big crocodile tears if they skinned a knee or something.

The porch light on the cabin welcomed them with a cheerful light, and Ann smiled at Ian when she took Libby from him at the door.

"That wasn't so bad, now, was it?"

He scowled, wondering if she'd sicced Libby on him in the first place.

Ann didn't even notice the scowl – or chose not to. Neither did the little girls, who were far too cheerful to be made grumpy by one less than cheerful guy. Especially one who had just made sure they'd all made it safely to their cabin. They smiled at him from around Ann and Danin, peeking out from the inside of the cabin. Which just made Ian more uncomfortable. Uncomfortable enough that he made a polite comment so he could leave as soon as possible.

"Goodnight."

"_Night, Ian_!" The girls chorused, waving happily at him.

He rolled his eyes, amused despite himself, and turned to go back to the cabin, ignoring the rest of the campers who were also heading back to their cabins.

OOOOOOOOO

Ian didn't return immediately to the cabin. He stopped off at the kitchen to get a glass of water more or less hoping that the kids would all be asleep by the time he returned. Small hope he knew, but it would be a good way to avoid all the usual bullshit about them being thirsty, or a bunch of chatter about what was going on the next day. If he was lucky, he'd be able to slip into a dark cabin and go straight to bed.

It didn't happen that way, of course.

Jack smiled up at him when Ian walked into the cabin. It was obvious from the way the boys were gathered around Jack and Shawn that they had been in the middle of a conversation when he'd walked in, and Ian saw that the boys looked a little worried, even though they smiled in relief when they saw him.

"I don't suppose River's with you?" Jack asked.

Ian shook his head, realizing for the first time that the Californian wasn't there.

"Nope."

"Did you see him on your way in?"

Ian shook his head again.

"Where were _you_?"

"Down at the main building."

Which meant that River wasn't there.

"The _Wraith_ probably got him," Chad said. Wilson and a couple of the others nodded their agreement.

Ian scowled. Jesus the little kids were gullible.

"The Wraith didn't get him, guys."

"He doesn't have Surfer Dude…" Brian said, pointing at the pet rock River had made. It was sitting on the ledge of the bed beside the door where River had placed it before heading to dinner that evening.

"He's probably just at one of the other cabins talking to someone," Ian said. He actually was fairly certain River was with a girl.

"That's what I told them," Jack said, grinning.

"But what if he needs help?" Sammy asked.

"He's fine, guys…" Ian told them.

"He might not be."

"He is."

"What if he isn't?"

"Then there's going to be that much more room in my car tomorrow on the way home."

It wasn't the right thing to say, even though Ian had meant it as a joke. The worried looks grew more worried, and Bruce actually looked like he was going to cry. Jack shook his head, torn between amusement and annoyance at Ian's comment.

"Why don't you go look for him, Ian?"

"What?"

"Go make sure he's okay," Jack said. "And tell him to get back here. Take Jaffer."

It wasn't really as much an order as it was a request, since Ian knew that Jack had just as good a suspicion about where River was as he did. But the kids needed River at the cabin, safe and sound, and that meant someone needed to go find him. Someone without a broken foot or messed up knee.

Ian muffled his sigh, and nodded, instead. It wasn't like he was afraid to go outside, after all, and there were fewer kids outside than in.

"I'll be back in a bit."

Shawn grinned, well aware why Ian was so willing to leave.

"Want to take one of the boys for company?" he asked.

Ian stopped himself from flipping Shawn off, knowing that he was teasing him.

"They'd probably rather have you tell them a bedtime story. You tell them so well."

"Ohhh!" Sammy smiled. "Tell us a story, Shawn!"

"Yeah!"

"I want a story!"

"Me, too!"

"Me, three!"

"Me, fou-"

Ian closed the door behind him, grinning. _That'd_ teach him. Now to find Hayden and unglue him from whichever girl he was with. He looked down at the black lab who had cheerfully followed him out into the night.

"Any idea where Hayden is?" He asked the lab.

Jaffer just wagged his tail. There were too many other people around and too many scents from earlier for him to track anyone, but he'd keep his eyes and ears open!

"We'll start with the cabins, then," Ian decided. Maybe Hayden had stopped to chat with one of the other counselors.

OOOOOOO

The cabins were a bust. None of the other counselors had seen River since campfire – although almost all of them offered to come look for him with Ian. The New Yorker shook his head at the offers; he had Jaffer, he told each volunteer, and didn't need anything else. He certainly didn't want company – although he didn't tell any of them that.

When he came to Romania once more, he was given his only real clue, and that was that Sierra hadn't returned to their cabin yet, either. Ann asked Ian if he wanted her to come help look, but Ian shook his head. He didn't want her company any more than he wanted anyone else's.

"I can find him."

Ann smiled.

"Where you find him, you'll probably find Sierra."

He nodded.

"I'll send her back here."

"Good. The girls are getting worried."

When Ann closed the door, Ian stood on the porch for a moment.

"If I were a horny Californian, where would I be?"

Jaffer wagged his tail, watching.

Ian shrugged. When in doubt with River, head for the water.

"Come on, Jaffer…"

He jumped off the porch and headed for the water front.


	99. 99

_Author's note: I'm really sorry about the lack of chapters the last couple (few?) days. The problem with working with children is that you tend to get whatever they get, and there's a nasty bug going around that has simply flattened me. Since my laptop is being a pain, that means I can't take it to bed with me, and since I don't feel well enough to spend any amount of time in front of the PC… well, the chapters haven't been coming. I'll try to do a little better soon. I'm on some potent antibiotics now._

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

It really couldn't have been a more beautiful night. The sky was clear and the moon was almost completely full, shining its refection onto the water of the lake, the lights of the distant camp far too dim to compete. It was quiet and still, and a painter couldn't have dreamed up a better backdrop. But the scene was completely lost on the two people sitting on the ski boat dock, barely visible in the night, their conversation indistinctive to anyone more than a few feet away from them, and their attention captured by the other person.

"Are you sure about this?"

A tightening of the hand that was holding the other, and a flash of white as a smile was captured in the moonlight.

"Definitely. You?"

"Oh, yeah."

The hand moved, sliding along bare flesh, and there was a slight gasping intake of breath.

"Don't panic."

Another flash of a smile.

"I'm fine."

Another smile, and a shared kiss.

"Right here?"

"In the boat?"

"What if someone comes?"

"They're all going to bed." There was a pause, and another brush of a hand against skin. "We can wait if you want…"

"No. Now."

Another smile, and the two leaned forward for a kiss – one that was far more serious than those that had preceded it. There were gentle moans of pleasure, and the two were suddenly lost in a world that held only the two of them.

"If I might interrupt – preferably before the porno music starts in the background…?"

The silence of the night shattered with that drawl, and the two forms broke apart with startled – guilty – gasps, their heads whipping around to see who had spoken. River, of course, recognized the voice immediately.

Sure enough, standing there on the sand right at the start of the dock, framed in the dim lights from the main building behind him and the moon in front of him was Ian Brooks, watching them with his arms crossed over his chest. Standing at his side was Jaffer, who looked even bigger when you couldn't see him all that well in the darkness.

Sierra spoke first, scrambling to her feet.

"I had something in my eye."

Ian snorted.

River stood as well.

"What are you doing out here?"

His voice was more annoyed than guilty now that he was over his initial surprise.

"I was sent to find you. Apparently the kids are convinced you're both Wraith food."

Sierra groaned, and headed off the dock, towards Ian.

"I need to get back to my cabin." She turned and flashed a guilty smile at River. "I'll see you in the morning. Okay?"

The Californian nodded.

"Good night."

"Night." Sierra looked at Ian, started to say something, and then visibly – even in the near dark – changed her mind. "Good night."

Ian nodded.

"Night."

River came off the dock while Sierra vanished into the dark, heading up towards the main building.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have the _shittiest_ timing?"

"Sorry to ruin your evening."

River scowled at the obvious insincerity in Ian's voice.

"Don't make me kick your ass, Brooks."

Ian flashed a slight smile now.

"The problem with that threat being that you _can't_…"

"Fuck you, Ian."

River wasn't quite as annoyed as he was trying to sound. True, his evening hadn't finished up the way he'd hoped it would – and he really hadn't expected it to go as far as Ian undoubtedly thought they'd planned on going – but he could see the humor in the situation as well. And was definitely relieved that it had been Ian – and not someone else – that had been sent.

Ian's amused snort was all the answer he got, and when River reached the sand, he jumped off the dock and headed for the path that lead up to the main building, with Ian and Jaffer stepping up to join him in the walk.

"Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Why would I tell anyone?"

"To be a prick."

"If _you'd_ keep your-"

"We weren't _really_ going to do anything," River said, interrupting before Ian could finish that particular sentence.

"No, I could see that."

"We weren't."

"I believe you."

Of course, his voice plainly said he didn't, but it was also amused, and River knew that he'd probably never hear the end of this – but that Brooks wasn't going to embarrass Sierra (or him) by mentioning what he'd seen on the dock.

"This is all your fault."

Since he was pretty sure he'd had nothing to do with River trying to get into Sierra's pants, Ian scowled.

"How do you figure that?"

"Your freaking Wraith story… that's the reason they sent you to find us, right?"

"Yup."

"There you go, then. _All_ your fault."

"I just saved you the trouble of hiding from an angry father – or worse, an angry mother."

River sighed.

"Maybe. But it would have been worth it."

"Take a cold shower, and then decide," Ian suggested, a smirk on his face that River could clearly see now that they had reached the lights of the main building.

"Screw you, Brooks."

He was grinning, though, when they reached the cabin only a few minutes later, and amazingly enough, Ian was too.


	100. 100

When Ian woke the next morning it was early. Nothing new there since he always woke early, but considering how late the boys had kept him (and the other guys) up the night before, he'd had every intention of sleeping in a little the next morning. He scowled when his eyes opened and looked at his watch, annoyed because he knew immediately that it was early, and that he was already probably too awake to go back to sleep.

"Shit…"

The curse was said softly, even lower than a whisper, really, but he almost repeated it much louder when he shifted on the uncomfortable thin mattress and cracked his knee on the board that was designed to keep him from falling off the bed in the middle of the night.

The pain lanced through his leg from knee to groin. It didn't last more than an instant, and he'd felt far worse pains in his life, but it was all it took to wake him up completely.

"Fucking bed…"

This, too, was said softly – although Ian knew from experience now that when the boys were tired they could sleep through anything. On the plus side… the boys were all asleep and if he wanted to take a morning run by himself now would be the perfect time to do it – when it was so early that God wasn't even awake, yet. Of course, Ian decided as he gingerly got out of bed and dropped silently to the floor, God was probably smart enough to keep from hitting His knee on a board and waking Himself up too early.

"What are you doing?"

The soft whisper came from Jack's bed. Ian wasn't surprised that he'd woken Jack, since O'Neill was always aware of what was going on around him.

"Going for a run."

"Go back to _bed_."

"If I run now, I can do it without company…"

There was a pause and Ian knew that Jack was figuring out what he'd meant by that. Jack hadn't been around all week and hadn't seen the boys so eager to join Ian on his run. He must have heard about it, though, because there was a little amusement in his voice when he spoke next.

"Fine," he whispered, softly. "Don't get lost."

"If I could, I'd have done it days ago…" Ian whispered back, reaching for his clothes.

There was a snort of good humor, and a rustling sound that told Ian Jack had turned in his tiny bed to go back to sleep. Ian dressed quickly and carried his shoes out the door, where he stopped on the porch long enough to put them on before heading for the main building. He'd stretch there – where there was no way one of the kids might wake up and see him at the last minute – and then run from there.

The morning was quiet. The sun wasn't up but the sky had that gray quality to it that Ian's mom had always called false dawn. Light enough that he could see where he was going, but dark enough that he needed to keep an eye on where he was going to make sure he didn't trip over something. Ian didn't mind; it was nice and quiet – just the way he liked things.

And then, as he was nearing the nurse's cabin, it wasn't so quiet. He smiled, well aware that Jake was awake by the annoyed crying he could hear so clearly. He changed direction slightly, moving closer to the nurse's cabin as he started by that area, and saw that the porch light was on and Sam was bundled in the rocking chair on the porch, her crying son warmly cuddled in her arms. Obviously she'd taken him outside, hoping to keep from waking the other occupants of the cabin. Jaffer was stretched out in front of the chair – out of range of the rockers – and his head came up when he heard Ian coming.

"Sam?"

He spoke up more to keep from startling her as he came out of the dark. She _was_ startled, but not badly – she didn't drop Jake, anyways – and she gave him a tired smile.

"What are you doing up so early?"

"Jogging."

"You're going pretty _slow_…"

Ian smiled, and came up the steps.

"It's still early. Is he okay?"

"Grumpy. Would you…?"

She finished that by holding the blanket wrapped baby up to his godfather, and Ian took him without so much as a scowl. He was used to helping Sam out this way – and it wasn't much compared to all the help she'd given him, so he was more than willing to do anything he could. Sure enough, Jake's crying stopped immediately.

Sam shook her head, smiling.

"You're a useful guy, Cadet Brooks."

Ian gave her a slightly mocking bow, feeling far more cheerful than he had when he'd woken up.

"Thank you, Major O'Neill. I do my insignificant best."

She chuckled, and patted the bench beside the rocking chair.

"Have a seat? Or are you planning on taking Jake for his first jog?"

Since his whole reason for jogging early was to be without little kids – including itty bitty kids who had to be carried around and would be even less company than the boys in Australia – Ian sat down.

"I can stick around until he falls asleep."

Since Jake was wrapped warmly in the blanket, his hands weren't free so he couldn't do a lot of goofing around, which meant there was very little – besides Ian himself – to distract the baby and keep him awake.

Early morning wasn't really a good time to discuss anything serious, Sam was sleepy and Ian wasn't really in the mood for anything too deep, so they just chatted about little stuff – mostly Jake – for about half an hour.

When the baby was soundly asleep, Ian handed him back to his mother, who gave him a warm smile in thanks, and stood up.

"I'll see you at breakfast, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am."

He headed off the porch, and Sam headed inside to put her son back to bed and then get another hour or two of sleep herself.

Surprisingly, Jaffer joined Ian instead of going back to bed with Sam. Ian didn't mind, of course. Jaffer was big and bulky, but for all his spoiling, he was in excellent shape and was more than capable of keeping up with Ian on his run. And even better, he wouldn't be nattering nonstop.

Ian slapped his side affectionately.

"You're probably going to wish you went back to bed, Big Dog…"

Jaffer just snorted and trotted off towards the main building, Ian jogging easily behind him.


	101. 101

"I was beginning to think you'd managed to get lost after all," Jack told Ian when he returned to the cabin almost two hours after he'd left. The boys were all still asleep, with the exception of Brian who was sitting up in his bed rubbing his eyes sleepily, but Shawn, Jack and River were all up and about, getting ready for their day.

"I had to drop Jaffer back with Sam."

"He went jogging with you?"

"Yeah."

Actually, the lab had chased birds trying to hunt for that early morning worm, and a few chipmunks who had been more than vocal (after they'd reached a safe place) when it came to scolding the dog for chasing them, but he'd kept up fine, and Ian had enjoyed the company.

"Sam awake, then?"

"Yeah."

Everyone was.

Jack slipped on his shoes and headed for the door.

"I'm going to go say good morning, then. I'll see you guys at breakfast."

River and Shawn nodded, while Ian stripped out of his sweaty clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist as he searched through his bag in vain for something clean to wear. No clean underwear, no clean socks, no clean shirts and not even a pair of clean jeans.

Shit.

"The dangers of camp," Shawn told him, looking over at him and understanding immediately what he was looking for. "You never have clean clothes by the end."

Ian scowled, and grabbed the least dirty pair of jeans that he could find, along with the least dirty shirt, socks and debated going commando for the day rather than wear dirty underwear.

"I have a spare shirt," River offered, tossing a brilliant green Hawaiian shirt over at him.

Ian snorted and shook his head, tossing it back. He'd go naked, first.

"Thanks anyways."

The bell rang, then, telling the camp it was time to wake up, and Ian headed into the shower to avoid dealing with the kids.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"The schedule says we're supposed to start packing our stuff before we go to breakfast," Shawn told the boys as soon as he and River had them all awake. "So make sure you get completely dressed before you do, so you don't have to look through your bags for socks or something after you've already packed up."

There were assorted responses to that, most of them mixed. The boys were sad to see the week end, but were excited to see parents that they'd been separated from for longer than any other time in their lives (for the most part). So it was a quiet group that got dressed and then started packing, and River and Shawn tried to cheer them up as they went around the room helping stuff things into bags.

Predictably, Sammy had the hardest time packing. He was still trying to stuff his clothes into his bags when Ian came out of the bathroom, freshly showered and shaved, even if he was wearing dirty clothes.

"Problems?" He asked as he came over and hung his towel off his bed to dry a bit before putting it in his bag.

Sammy nodded.

"They fit when I came…"

"They were neatly folded when you came," Ian reminded him. At least, they had been until Sammy had dumped all the shit out onto his bed.

"Just jam it in," Bruce suggested, coming over and pushing clothes into the bag as well.

"Like this," Chad said, demonstrating with his own vastly overstuffed bag.

Even with all the kids giving him advice, however, it was no use. Sammy's stuff wasn't going to fit in the bags he'd brought. It had apparently taken advantage of the time at camp to multiply and spread like some kind of crazy mutated clothes monster.

By the time the breakfast bell rang, they still hadn't managed to get Sammy packed.

"Jared might have a couple of garbage bags we can use," Shawn suggested, eyeing the pile of clothes with amazement. He'd been to camp a dozen times, now, and had never seen anything like Sammy's clothes before.

"We can ask him after breakfast," River said. "Let's go eat."

The kids cheered their approval of that suggestion, and there was a sudden rush for the door.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

As was the tradition at camp Millcreek, breakfast the final day was a hearty (and special) one. There were plates filled with waffles, strawberries, whipped cream, sausages, slices of ham, scrambled eggs, hash browns, toast and fresh fruit. There was also cold cereal for those who didn't want anything else, and Ian decided as he sat down after being Runner that Jared and the kitchen staff were unloading ay food that they hadn't used up in the course of the week on this last meal. Which was fine with him, since he was hungry. Obviously, everyone else was, as well, because the room was silent, filled only with the sound of plates being moved, forks and spoons clattering and the sound that young children make when they're eating.

His attention on the meal, Ian didn't realize that everyone at the table was suddenly looking at him. Not right away, anyways. Glancing at Jack as he drained his glass of milk, he caught Jack's amused look, and then saw that Grant – who was seated beside Jack – was looking at him as well. That was when he noticed the others were watching him, too, and he was about to scowl and say something, when he realized that they weren't really looking _at_ him. They were looking _behind_ him.

Before he could turn to see what it was that was so interesting, hands came around from behind him and covered his eyes. He smelled soap and shampoo and felt a soft cheek brush up against his own, and heard a warm – unexpected but very welcomed – voice murmur softly in his ear.

"Guess who…"

Surprised, Ian brought his hands up to hers, and pulled them off his eyes as he turned, unwilling to believe what he was hearing. Sure enough, though, standing right behind him was Cassandra Fraiser.

"Surprised?" She asked, completely unnecessarily. His expression was completely surprised, and she smiled to see the warm welcome in his dark eyes.

"Yeah." He realized he was still holding her hands, and let them go, but he stood up – almost automatically. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come give mom a ride home…" Cassie told him. "And maybe get a free breakfast out of it."


	102. 102

"Here," Ian said, realizing that everyone in the cafeteria was watching them. "Take my spot."

He pushed her into his chair, more to get her out of everyone's view than to give her a spot – although he definitely didn't mind giving up his seat. "I'll get another chair."

She sat down, smiling at the boys who were all watching her suspiciously, and Ian grabbed an unused chair from the table beside theirs, ignoring the curious looks of those around him.

"Who are your friends, Ian?" Cassie asked, still looking at the boys.

"Chance, Chad, Wilson, Brian, Grant, Bruce and Sammy." Ian told her, pointing at each boy as he introduced them.

"You didn't mention Jack and Shawn and River," Wilson said.

"That's because she already _knows_ us," Shawn said, smiling. He was just as glad to see Cassie, although he would have really liked it if Gina had come with her. Which didn't appear to be the case.

"This is Cassandra," Ian said, flashing her a slight smile of his own. "My girlfriend."

"_You_ can call me _Cassie_, though," she told the boys.

"You're _really_ Ian's girlfriend?" Sammy asked, uncertainly.

"Yup."

"Are you in the Air Force?" Chance asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Cassandra's going to go to school and learn to be a doctor," Ian said. "Like her mom."

"Your mom's a doctor?" Wilson asked.

"Her mom's _Doctor Fraiser_," Jack said, pointing at the good doctor, who was sitting at the staff table with Sam, but watching her daughter with a slight smile on her face. Obviously she'd known Cassie was coming, because she didn't seem at all surprised to see her.

Now the kids all craned their necks to look at Janet as well, and she flushed just a little at the sudden attention. She wasn't usually the center of attention, after all. Especially with a bunch of little kids.

Ian couldn't help but grin at that.

"Is your mom making you be a doctor?" Chance asked, curiously, shoving a sausage into his mouth at the same time.

Cassie shook her head.

"I want to be one."

"Why?" Sammy asked.

Ian slid all the platters of food toward Cassie so she could make herself a plate of breakfast, and then stood up and headed to the kitchen to ask for another plate and silverware for himself, well aware as he did so that everyone was either watching him or watching Australia's table. The word was already out that the girl at the table with the boys of Australia was Ian's girlfriend and now everyone – especially the female counselors – were curious what kind of girl had managed to catch the eye of someone like Ian, who didn't seem to like anyone all that much.

"She's pretty, Ian," Jared said, looking over Ian's shoulder at Cassie, who was engaged in several conversations at once with the boys.

Ian looked over as well, and couldn't help but smile just a little bit. She was better than pretty as far as he was concerned. She was beautiful. He didn't say that, though. Instead he nodded.

"Yeah, she is."

Jared loaded him up with a few extras for their table – including the silverware and plate, as well extra toast, a couple of muffins he'd been saving for his kitchen staff, extra strawberries and whipped cream for their waffles, and another pitcher of milk.

"Your boys are adorable, Ian," Cassie told him when he came over and sat back down.

Ian scowled. Technically, they weren't _his_ boys. The boys, however, all preened. They were _adorable_! Even if it was a girl that was saying it, she was a friend of Ian's – who they all loved – and if _she_ liked them then he must like them, too, of course.

Well aware that he was expected to say something a little more positive than simply '_they're not mine'_, Ian shrugged.

"They're _something_, all right, aren't they?"

Jack laughed, setting off River, who was equally amused. That could be taken a number of ways, of course, and leave it to Ian to leave them all wondering which way he meant. Of course, the boys didn't catch on, which was a good thing really. With River and Jack laughing, the boys laughed, too, knowing that it had to be funny – even if they didn't get the joke.

Cassie turned the tables on the boys, then, as she started eating; asking them questions about what they'd done that week and listening with far more patience than Ian would have ever been able to show if he'd been the one questioning. Of course, he'd been part of the activities, so he didn't really need to listen to find out what had been going on, so it didn't matter how interested he was. Instead, he ate, listening with half an ear in case someone asked him something, but more focused on eating while the kids started telling Cassie about riding in the ski boat, and how River's horse and Ian's horse had gotten into a fight.

OOOOOO

She didn't hear too much of the week's events, however. Even as Sammy was excitedly telling her all about how he'd decided – completely on his own – that the water wasn't such a scary thing after all, Gary stood up from the staff table and made his way to the front of the room for announcements.

The room stilled almost immediately, and Sammy trailed off in the middle of the story when he realized what was happening.

"Good morning, Campers!"

The kids all responded with typical loudness – especially Australia, who were determined to show Cassie how to be noisy for announcements.

Gary grinned.

"Okay! So, as you all know, today's the last day of camp…"

Now the noises were regretful, and there were more than a few sorrowful expressions – even at Australia's table. Ian was the only one who didn't look at least a little saddened at that announcement.

"So, when you're done eating I want you to clear your dishes and other stuff, and wipe down your tables. Then one of your counselors can come up and get the memory books for your cabin, so you can start working on getting them signed before your parents begin to show up to come and get you."

There were some excited shouts at this announcement, but the boys at Ian's table were confused – as were Ian and River.

"They're books," Jack explained to all the kids. Of course they wouldn't know; this was their first time at camp. "They'll have pictures of you guys – and the other campers and counselors – doing different activities and it'll have addresses for all the kids at camp – and the counselors, too."

"And places for you to get others to sign your books," Shawn added, smiling at the look on Ian's face when he realized it was possible that the camp thing wasn't going to end when the parents came and got the kids. "Finish eating, and we'll see what they look like."

And now, of course, the boys couldn't eat fast enough. They shoveled the remaining food on their plates into their mouths so quickly that Ian was actually worried about them.

"Relax, guys," he told them, frowning. "There's plenty of time."

Just his luck, they'd all start choking and he'd never get rid of them.


	103. 103

Not surprisingly, it was only a couple of minutes before Cassie and Ian were the only two eating. Since both of them could be counted on to not spill their milk all over the table, Shawn went up and got Australia's box of memory books, handing one to everyone at the table – except Cassie. The boys grabbed theirs excitedly, as did all the other campers who were getting theirs from their respective counselors, and soon the room was filled with loud murmurs of conversations, punctuated by the occasional excited yelp from one of the kids when they found a picture of themselves, or of one of their friends.

Curious, Cassie set her fork down and reached for the little booklet in front of Ian.

"Oh, God," River said, thumbing through his own and looking up at Ian with a gleam of amusement in his blue eyes. "I've _got_ to send that picture to your mom, Brooks."

Ian scowled. He didn't even know what picture it was, but just from the amusement that River was getting out of it, he knew it had to be something that he wasn't going to like. Cassie looked up from the book she had picked up and looked over River's shoulder, and smiled. Then she thumbed through Ian's booklet until she found the right page, and showed it to Ian.

"It's adorable."

He looked and saw it was a picture taken at the campfire the night before. One he hadn't seen anyone taking. One with him sitting beside the boys with Libby comfortably situated in his lap, her head resting against his chest half asleep. Great.

"That's not _me_," he told her. "They just cut her out and superimposed the picture…"

Before Cassie could say anything, Sammy looked over Ian's shoulder at the picture in question.

"That's _you_. That's me beside you, see?"

Ian sighed, and pointedly ignored Cassie's amused giggle.

"Here's another one of you, Ian!" Chance said, flipping through his book excitedly. He turned it so Ian could see, and sure enough there was a black and white picture of Ian with several of the boys, covered with chocolate syrup and mustard.

"Is that _blood_?" Cassie asked, looking at the picture and then at Ian as if to look for gashes. She saw several bruises and the cut on his forehead, but no blood.

"No. It's chocolate syrup."

"What?"

"It's from tank wars," Sammy said, grinning. He'd been covered with flour and ketchup in that picture.

"It's a glorified food fight," River told her, smiling.

"Sounds like you had fun," Cassie said.

"It was great," River told her.

"Yeah!" Sammy agreed.

The rest of the boys nodded their agreement as well, all smiling hugely.

"It was!"

Ian wasn't nodding, Cassie noticed. She didn't call attention to that, however. Instead she looked at Jack.

"Are you and Sam enjoying yourself?"

O'Neill nodded.

"We like it here."

As opposed to some people.

"Will you sign my book, River?"

They all looked up as one of the female counselors from the 7 year olds' cabin came over, her memory book in hand and a slight smile on her face as she regarded the Californian.

"Sure."

"Mine, too!" Chance yelled, pushing closer.

"Me, too!" Brian yelled, handing his over as well.

"And me!"

"Sign mine, Shawn!"

"Mine, too!"

The room was suddenly filled with kids yelling, each of them asking (at the top of their voices) for someone to sign their books. The Australian boys ended up moving around to the other tables as they sought out other signatures and to make up for them leaving several others came over to the table where Shawn, Ian and River were sitting, pushing their books in front of them and asking for a signature – and of course, a short message. Jack took the opportunity to sneak off and join Sam at the staff table, but Cassie simply sat beside Ian, watching in amazement as what had been order and quiet suddenly became a room filled with babbling people.

River was the most popular – especially with the girls – but that was fine with Ian. He had his hands full anyways. He was more popular than he wanted to be, and it didn't help that most of the other counselors – male and female – were curious about Cassie.

"This is your girlfriend, Ian?" Ann asked, coming over and looking at Cassie with a smile.

"Yeah."

"I almost decided you'd made her up just to keep me at arms' length."

Ian scowled, but Cassie simply smiled.

"I'm Cassie."

Ann sat down, equally amused.

"I'm Ann."

"It's nice to meet you."

Ann pushed her book in front of Ian.

"Sign this?"

"Fine."

"You're studying to be a doctor?" Ann asked as Ian reached for the book, debating just how pissed Cassie would be if he left Ann a less than gentlemanly note in her book.

"I will be," Cassie confirmed. "I start at Johns Hopkins this fall."

"Wow. Impressive."

Cassie smiled.

"It helps to have a genius for a boyfriend. He helped me with my homework when I needed it."

"You did it on your own," Ian said, firmly, looking up from where he'd signed his name in Ann's book. "I just helped a little."

"What do _you_ do?" Cassie asked Ann.

"I'm studying psychology at Yale."

"Wow."

"It sounds more impressive than it is," Ann said, modestly.

"I'll bet it same in handy around here…" Cassie told her, smiling at Ian as the kids crowded around every table in the room, chattering loudly and only increasing in volume as they tried to get attention from those around them.


	104. 104

_Author's note: Hey all! Sorry about the slow updates. For those of you who don't hang out on the forum, I'll just let you know here that I've managed to catch little kid germs yet again and managed to get sick. Not to mention that Christmas is coming, so things are getting nutty! I'll be working on them, though, really!_

OOOOOOOOO

Ann looked over as Ian signed her book (all he signed was his name, as opposed to most of the others who were writing little notes to those who owned the books).

"Is he _really_ as smart as they're all saying he is?" She asked Cassie.

Ian scowled at the question, but Cassie grinned.

"Oh yeah."

"I'm right _here_," Ian told them, annoyed at being talked about, but unable to hide the fact that as far as Cassie was concerned, he'd put up with it. Indeed, he'd put up with anything from her.

Ann's smile was mischievous. She had a lot of other people to say goodbye to, but Ian was so reserved and mysterious really that she couldn't help but try and find out (by means of Cassie, who probably knew him better than almost anyone) what made him tick.

"And his memory's really that great?"

Cassie nodded, but River and Shawn had been listening as well, and River spoke up before Cassie could.

"He doesn't forget anything."

"Nothing?" Now the question was directed at Ian, who handed her back her book. Since it was obvious she wasn't going to let him ignore the question, he shook his head.

"Nope."

"What did you wear the first night of camp?"

"That's easy," Shawn said. "Jeans and a t-shirt."

Which was what he'd worn every day of camp.

"Ask him something _hard_," River suggested, smiling. He was more than willing to let Ian be the center of attention – because he knew it annoyed him more than anything (except maybe stupid questions) – and River loved every chance to annoy Ian that came up.

"Like what?" Ann asked.

"What was I during Fruit Basket Upset?" Shawn asked Ian.

"Apples."

Ann looked at Shawn, who nodded. Yup, he'd been apples.

"What was _River_?" Ann asked, thinking it was a lucky guess.

"Grapes," Ian told her. He pointed at one of the female counselors standing beside River. "She was Grapes, too." Then he pointed to each person standing around the table, counselor or camper, and continued without a pause. "Apples, oranges, oranges, grapes, apples, apples, apples, bananas, apples and you were with the grapes."

Ann stared at him in amazement, but she wasn't the only one. All the counselors were watching with equal shock – except for Shawn and River who were wearing smug expressions. They, of course, were used to it.

"How did you do that?" Hank asked. He'd just come up to the table in time to hear what was going on.

"I've been able to do it all my life," Ian said He stood up, suddenly, tired of the stares. "I'm going to go talk to Jack," he told Cassie, squeezing her hand lightly so she'd know he wasn't mad or anything. "I'll be back in a minute."

The others watched him go, and then broke into conversation about what they'd seen him do. It didn't last long, though, since the kids weren't as impressed with what Ian had done (they were more anxious to get signatures and notes into their books), and the kids took the attention off Ian and back to themselves – as it should be the last day of camp.

"Sign my book, River!" One of the little girls demanded, handing him her memory book as she squeezed into the crowd around the table.

"With _pleasure_!"

Cassie smiled, looking from the kids who were once more crowding around the table for attention over to make sure Ian hadn't left the room. He hadn't. He was right where he'd said he was going; crouched down by the staff table where Sam, Jack and her mother were all sitting.

"He's not mad, is he?" Ann asked, softly, her gaze following Cassie's.

Cassie shook her head.

"Nah. He's just not as impressed with his memory as most others are."

Ann smiled.

"Some day when I have my degree, I'd love to get him on my couch and see what makes him tick."

Cassie chuckled.

"Good luck. I've had him on the couch, and I still haven't figured him out."

She was interrupted from whatever else she might have said when Sammy came running back over to the table, squeezing in to stand beside them.

"Cassie! Will you sign my book?"

"Of course."

OOOOOOOOOO

"What happens now?"

"After the kids get their books signed, Gary'll send them up to the cabins to get their stuff. They'll stack it in the main entrance, and by then parents should start arriving."

"No parents have ever _forgotten_ to come get their kids, have they?"

Sam smiled.

"Not that I've ever heard of, no."

"Good."

"Don't worry, Ian," Jack said, just as amused. "You're almost done."

Ian nodded, but refrained from mentioning that it wasn't going to be soon enough for him. He didn't need to, after all. He looked over and saw that Cassie was signing something in a book – Sammy's from the looks of things, since the boy was watching her intently as he stood beside her.

"I'd better get back…"

Before Cassie decided to keep one of the kids.


	105. 105

True to the prediction, eventually the kids ran out of people to sign their books, and even the most enthusiastic finally had to sit for a while and simply read those notes that had been written. Of course this was as entertaining as gathering the notes in the first place, so when Gary stood up and dismissed them all back to their cabins, telling them to get them cleaned and to double-check to make sure that they weren't forgetting any of their stuff when they packed.

Ian stopped just long enough to bum a garbage bag from Jared, and River and Shawn made sure all the boys had their books (Shawn left his with Sam for safe keeping and Ian relinquished his to Cassie, who was still browsing through it, smiling every time she came upon a picture of him – especially when it included him doing something he normally wouldn't have.

"Okay guys…" Shawn said once the boys were all up in the cabin. "River, Chance and Chad take the bathroom. Make sure you have all your soap and stuff and make sure there aren't any towels left hanging around that still need to e packed. Wilson, Bruce, Brian and I will take the rest of the cabin, and Ian…" he looked at the pile of Sammy's stuff hat seemed to have grown even bigger while they were at breakfast. "You can help Sammy with his stuff – if you don't mind?"

Since he'd already planned on it, Ian just nodded. He didn't mind Shawn taking control of the situation – it was good practice for him.

The boys were pretty good about cleaning – even the ones stuck with bathroom detail. It helped that their counselors were doing most of the work and weren't complaining at all – of course, the three were used to doing dirty work from the academy where they did pretty much what they were ordered. And it didn't take long before the cabin was spotless and everything was picked up – including Sammy's incredible pile of stuff.

"Let's grab our gear and get it down to the main building before your parents get here," River said, reaching for Brian's gear. He, Ian and Shawn were just going to leave their own stuff until after the kids were picked up, so they had plenty of hands to help the boys carry their stuff – although it was touch and go with Sammy's things.

OOOOOOOOOO

By the time they reached the bottom of the hill, there were several cars in the parking lot or pulling in and already campers were reuniting with parents, eagerly hugging them and then pulling them along to meet their newly made friends and to meet their counselors. None of the boys from Australia had parents waiting for them, which gave them time to get their stuff onto the porch where it was stacked against the wall, waiting. Then the boys raced around chasing each other and burning up some extra energy by wrestling in the grass next to the parking lot.

"There's mom!"

Brian was the first to be picked up. He pointed eagerly to a black BMW that was coming down the road to the camp, tugging on River's shirt excitedly. No matter how much the boys didn't want to leave camp or their new friends, they were all eager to see their folks again, and Brian couldn't hide it any better than any of the other campers were.

Before the BMW came to a stop, Wilson and Chad were jumping up and down, pointing at a Blazer that was heading their direction.

The parents had started to arrive.

OOOOOOOOO

The rest of the morning was a fair whirlwind of activity. As each kids parents arrived (either as a set or in singles) they were brought over to meet the counselors. Shawn, River and Ian (mostly Shawn and River) greeted them cheerfully, and smiled while the boy in question talked excitedly about what they'd done that week and almost without fail, the boys in Australia couldn't help but mention how River's horse had been beaten up by Ian's horse, and how Ian had rescued Libby in the rain storm.

Then came the goodbyes, and they were just as tearful as Shawn remembered them being when it was him on the other end. One by one the kids mournfully hugged their counselors tight, promising to write every day and to keep in touch.

"Am I going to see you again?" Sammy asked Ian, tears brightening his eyes as he looked up at him.

Ian shook his head, feeling pretty gooey inside.

"Probably not." He reached out and put his hand on the top of the little boy's head. "But that doesn't mean we can't write to each other."

Sammy looked up at him, surprised.

"You'll write to me?"

Ian shrugged.

"Sure."

"Really?"

"Yup."

Sammy threw his arms around Ian's waist, hugging him close, and Ian picked him up to give him a proper goodbye. It wasn't something he was normally all that good at, but he knew Sammy needed it, and really, what was the harm in it? Besides, he liked Sammy.

He put him down a moment later, pointedly ignoring River and Shawn, who were watching with smug grins.

"Be good," he told the boy, wiping the tears from Sammy's cheeks.

Sammy forced a smile and nodded.

"I will."

He turned and headed for his mother, who had been watching with a warm smile, and Shawn moved over to stand by Ian as Sammy's mom and dad loaded his gear into the back of a truck (big surprise there).

"You big softy…"

Ian scowled at the amusement in Shawn's voice.

"Another word out of you Adams, and I'll toss you in the lake."

Shawn laughed, not at all concerned about the threat, and then changed the subject.

"I'm going to ride home with Jack and Sam… do you mind?"

Ian shook his head. He'd pretty much expected it.

"Not at all. I-"

"He's the last of them, huh?" River said, walking over and interrupting.

"Unless you had one hiding under your bed all week…" Shawn said.

The Californian grinned.

"Not that I know of." River had been busy bestowing goodbye hugs to most of the campers – especially the little girls – and he caught Sierra's eye when she walked by with one of her girls. "By the way, Brooks… I'm going to catch a ride with Sierra. She'll drop me off at Shawn's house this evening."

Ian looked over at River, but really he wasn't all that surprised. After catching them in a liplock the night before, he wasn't surprised that they'd finish the conversation at a different – and presumably more opportune – time.

"That's fine."

Which meant he was driving home alone – which was okay, too, really. Then he could speed. He glanced at his car, which was dusty after sitting in the parking lot for a week, and frowned as he noticed something odd.

"Where's my license plate…?"


	106. 106

"Come on, Ian…" Cassie said, nudging him. "It's kind of funny if you think about it…"

From the glowering expression on his face, Ian didn't think it was funny at all – and he'd had _plenty_ of time to think about it. He and Cassie were leaning against the rail of the porch, while the rest of the camp – which at the moment consisted of all the counselors and a few staff members (minus Sam, Jake, Jack and Janet) – were on an impromptu scavenger hunt as they searched for Ian's missing license plate.

They'd been searching ever since one of the counselors admitted that it probably was Ian's license plate they'd used to fulfill their need for a plate during the camp scavenger hunt a few days back – although she'd been certain they'd returned it to the proper car. The only problem was, none of the counselors from that particular cabin could verify that the plate had been returned to the car in the frenzy of activity after the game had ended.

"Any luck?"

Ian was saved a reply by the arrival of Sam, who wasn't quite able to hide her amusement at the situation. True, Ian was furious, but she knew that was only because the car meant so much to him – and it was _only_ a license plate, after all. Even if they couldn't find it, it could be replaced.

"Not yet," Ian told her as she came over to stand on the other side of him, flanking him between her and Cassie.

"I'm sure it'll turn up."

"Yeah."

Of course, he'd wanted to get the hell out of camp as soon as possible, and now that was all going down the fucking toilet, wasn't it?

Sam leaned against him just a little, watching as Jack loaded Shawn's gear into the back of the truck while Janet watched, holding Jake.

"Don't be angry…it wasn't personal…"

He sighed.

"I know."

"But you're mad."

"Yes."

There wasn't any reason to deny it.

"It's just a license plate."

"It's _my_ license plate."

"And now you have to hang out and wait to see if they find it."

It wasn't the first time she'd seemed to read his mind, but he was still amazed that she seemed to do it so easily. Of course, she wasn't reading his mind, only his expression – and Ian was an open book as far as Sam was concerned. She read him that easily.

"I wanted to leave…"

"Was camp that bad?" Cassie asked, wondering why he was so eager to escape.

"Yes."

Now she wasn't sure if he was being serious because camp really _had_ been that bad or because he was in a snit because of the missing license plate. Sam obviously wasn't certain, either, to judge by the next question.

"You seemed to get along with the boys."

"They were fine."

"So you're going to come back next year?" Cassie asked, half teasing.

"I'm never coming back."

Ian wasn't joking at all.

"I thought you said the kids-"

"It's not the kids," Ian interrupted.

"Then-"

"It's the camp itself, isn't it?" Sam asked. "You hate it because you were forced here against your will."

Ian nodded.

"That's…" Cassie trailed off without saying what she'd almost said. She'd been about to say that it was dumb, but really, it wasn't when she thought about it. Why would he like a place he hadn't wanted to come, and why would he want to come back and thrust himself willingly back into a situation he had no desire to be in? "…I guess I can see what you mean…"

Sam touched his arm.

"You being sent here was _my_ fault," she told him. "I made a comment that was said in fun, but was taken seriously, and that's why General Hammond sent you here. I just thought you should know."

It was better that he know she was responsible.

He frowned, but before he could actually respond to that, one of the doors to the main building crashed open behind them, startling all of them.

"We found it!" Sierra said, cheerfully, coming over with the missing license plate in her hand.

"Where was it?" Cassie asked, curiously.

"In one of the closets."

She handed it to Ian, who glanced at it just long enough to make sure it was his plate.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

The rest of the counselors were gathering around as well, now, and Sam knew that they wouldn't have a chance to finish their discussion – at least not just then.

"Okay, guys," Gary said, walking over as well. "We have a few administrational items to take care of before you guys get going – so let's get that done so you all can head out and get home before dinner, at least."

Jack had warned Ian that there would be a quick counselor meeting after all the kids were gone, where they'd go over the camp and fill out a quick survey, so he wasn't surprised by the announcement. He didn't even scowl.

"Are you coming over when you get home?" Sam asked as they started heading for the door.

Ian shook his head.

"I've got some laundry to do, and I want to take a long shower and then a longer nap."

Preferably in a bed that you didn't have to break your shins to get into.


	107. Epilogue

_**Epilogue**_

When the convertible pulled up to the main gate at Cheyenne Mountain, the Sergeant of the Guard waved at the driver, signaling him to stop. Since Ian was easy to recognize, and the top was down on the car so it was plain to see he was the only one in it, Ian knew that it meant he probably had a message to deliver. So instead of being annoyed at the hold up, he simply stopped.

"Good morning, Cadet." The Sergeant grinned as he approached, and Ian knew it was amusement – the Marines knew where he'd been the last week, and he was pretty sure one of them would eventually ask him how a camp filled with little kids had managed to give him the dark bruise on his cheek and the cut above his eye that his eyebrow did nothing to conceal. Well, he'd field those questions when they asked them – and he knew if there were a message, it wouldn't be just then.

"Good morning, Sergeant."

"General Hammond left word that he'd like you to join him in his office before SG-1 briefs."

Ian nodded. He wasn't surprised. Hammond probably had some other shit assignment for him now that he'd managed to survive camp.

"Thanks."

"Nice shiner."

Yeah, the guy just couldn't pass up the chance to make a comment now that he'd passed on the message.

Ian smiled; if the Sergeant had a big-assed bruise on his face Ian would have been just as amused, and he didn't mind taking shit – as long as it was good-natured – from these guys. When they weren't on guard duty at the main gate, they occasionally guarded the gate room, and had long since proven to him that they weren't a bunch of assholes.

"You should see the _other_ guy…"

Now the Sergeant grinned, as did the Corporal who had walked over to the car while the two were talking.

"The way I hear it, the other guy is _six_…"

The two Marines chuckled, and Ian shook his head. For a top secret base, there sure weren't many secrets among those working there. And there was no doubt in Ian's mind who had passed on that little tidbit of information.

"He was big for his age," Ian said, putting the car in gear and started though the gate.

The Marines chuckled again, but waved him on through. Plenty of time to make fun of him later, after all, and General Hammond _was_ waiting.

OOOOOOOOOO

He'd barely stepped off the elevator when he was stopped by Daniel, who was carrying a stack of papers in his hand.

"Hey, Ian, welcome home… got a minute?"

"Sure."

He didn't really, but Hammond didn't know he was on base – probably – so he could wait a few minutes before reporting to his office.

"Have you ever heard the name Anubis?" Daniel asked.

"He's one of the Egyptian gods, right?"

"Well, yes, he is… but that isn't why I asked. I was hoping maybe the name would trigger something in those Ancient memories you have stuck in your head."

"Like what?" Ian asked, curiously. He couldn't think of any other context he'd heard the name in before – except one of his high school classes. Since Daniel was an archeologist, however, Ian didn't bother to bring up any of that information. Surely he knew more about the old gods than Ian's senior anthropology teacher did.

"I'm not sure. We're going to be meeting up with Jacob and a couple of the Tok'ra, who say they have some information about a new system lord – one that has been previously unheard of up until recently. He's making up for lost time in a hurry, though. I was just hoping there might be something…"

He trailed off, still looking at Ian hopefully, but the New Yorker shook his head.

"Sorry Daniel. Maybe if I have a chance to think about it…"

Daniel shrugged.

"It was worth a shot. I'll see you at briefing, okay?"

"Okay."

Feeling a little like he'd let Daniel down – even though there was no way he could know everything about _everyone_ – Ian headed down the hall to Hammond's office, while Daniel headed for his own.

OOOOOOO

The knock on the door pulled General Hammond from a stack of paperwork that had developed over the weekend, and he looked up. Seeing who it was through the open blinds on his window, he waved Ian in.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Ian asked, walking in.

Hammond nodded.

"Have a seat, Ian."

He studied the cadet carefully as he walked across the room and sat down, and was relieved to see that despite the injuries he'd sustained through the week, all he had to show from them were a few bruises and a stitched up cut on his head. He was walking fine, and actually looked like he'd managed to get some sun – and maybe even gain a pound or two.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as Ian settled into a chair.

"Fine."

There was a definite guardedness to that response, and Hammond wondered if Ian thought it was a trick question.

"I spoke with Gary Hines this morning…"

Now the wariness in Ian's voice moved to his expression, and the General almost smiled. Even if Ian were the most even-tempered person in the world, he'd still have made a terrible diplomat. You could read his expression so easily some times.

"He says you did a great job with the kids."

The wariness turned to slight surprise, and this time Hammond _did_ smile.

"I'm impressed. I put you in a situation that you had absolutely no experience with – and even less desire to undertake – and you did what you had to do."

"I didn't have any choice."

Now there was a bit of bitterness in Ian's voice, but Hammond didn't mind.

"Of course you did. There would have been consequences, of course, but you could have refused. Instead, you went. You obeyed your orders, no matter how reluctantly, and from what I've been told, you handled yourself extremely well – especially considering the circumstances."

Since the last thing Ian had expected was praise, he was a little off balance, and it showed. Hammond didn't press the issue. In fact, he changed the subject completely.

"SG-1 is going off world this morning to meet up with Jacob Carter…"

Glad for the change of subject, Ian nodded.

"Daniel told me."

"Are you up for it? No lingering injuries?"

After all, when SG-1 had returned from camp their first time, he'd practically needed to give them a week downtime to recover.

"I'm fine."

Hammond nodded.

"Good. Briefing is in half an hour. Hopefully this meeting with the Tok'ra will be far less harrowing than the last time."

Ian couldn't care less. No matter what Gary Hines had said, or General Hammond thought, _anything_ was better than camp. He'd even take a new system lord to deal with over _any_ six year old. What was the worst this _Anubis_ guy could do, after all?

_**The End!**_

_Okay, so it's finally ended. I know it probably seemed to drag on a bit, but I love details, and they take a while to write. Sorry. Obviously, the next story will probably be dealing with more of the Tok'ra and Goa'uld, but it's also going to be the Asgard story I promised when I finished this latest campers story. So let me know what you thought of this one, please, and we'll start the next one soon after Christmas, most likely._


End file.
